Wordless Wednesday

Finding more time

Lately I have been working on finding more time to pray, study, organize, read to my girls, practice the ABC's with Allie, be more patient and feed my family healthier choices.

As "women", (mothers and wives) we spend an incredible amount of time preparing grocery list, organizing meals for the week, grocery shopping, putting the groceries away, washing and cutting what needs to be put in baggies, preparing the meal, feeding it to our family and then cleaning up after the mess. Then the whole process begins again.

I have found an easy way to eliminate some of the stress, save more time and feed my family quicker and more healthy.

Monday's are my day of madness. I plan our meals, make the list, shop for the food, bring it home, pre- wash, pre- cut and organize 3 solid meals and 3 left over meals for my family to eat for lunch and dinner. Most Mondays are revolved around food and the kitchen.

Since I have found this system that works for my family, it has saved an enormous amount of time and money throughout the week.

Monday's are busy but the prep time for the week sure does make more time for the things that are just as important to keeping my family happy.

By preparing our meals in advance, it makes meal time so much easier and faster. When my girls say they are hungry it only takes 5 minutes to make a very delicious healthy plate to set before them and it taste as if I slaved over the stove for hours. This also is helpful for Charles when he comes in from a late night of work and is starving, he has a meal already prepared for him, he just has to eat it up.

This system not only enables me more time but it helps that I don't have to offer my family a Peanut butter sandwich, chips or any other unhealthy choice. Don't get me wrong we do eat these things occasionally but when I've taken the time to prepare properly it eliminates feeding my family what I call "empty fuel food"

What easy tips do you have in finding more time for yourself, your family, God and others?

Wordless Wednesday

MY WIFE ROCKS EVERY DAY!

Well she is probably going to throw "rocks" at me today because I hijacked her blog to tell all her web friends that SHE ROCKS!

• She is the best wife in the world! (I asked all of your husbands and they told me its true.)
• She is the best mom in the world! (I asked your kids too.)
• She is the best pastors wife in the world! (Ok, your getting the drift now.)
• She is the best kisser in the world!
• She is HOT!
  
• She is so cute when she uses words that she just heard the wrong way!
• She is so smart! (OK, sentence above seems to contradict this one but take it in context and lets stay on point.)
• She is the best cook in the world! (This is simply a fact.)
• She is so patient with me!
• She is so faithful to me!
• She is so loving to me!
• She is so sensitive! (She is a German Indian so there are moments where the blades come out, but overall she is sensitive and i'm not just saying that because she scares me.)
• She is so creative! (Especially with her blades.)
• She is so gentle! (Well, like 27 days out of the month but there is that week. Gets a little edgy around here. Ha)
• She smells like the sweetest roses!

Well I could go on and on but really I am probably already in trouble for what I have said so far as well as for hijacking her blog. Actually, I did not know that password until today when she was working on it with me looking over her shoulder. So this will probably be my last post.

LOVE YOU BABY! Be at peace my little German Indian.

I would like to wake up with all my hair.

MY WIFE ROCKS EVERYDAY!

Bedtime memories

These are the moments that we never want to fade from our memory. When it's cool that Daddy reads Bible stories, sings songs and cuddles with his little princesses.

Moments when they open up and tell us all that they are feeling not holding back anything.

Aleia loves her bedtime routine especially when Daddy is home.

She is totally a Daddy's girl and we wouldn't have it any other way. She feels secure when he is home, she depends on her Daddy to make all the boo-boo's go away, she knows he can fix anything and he makes bedtime stories up that have you on the edge of the bed, the whole time he's telling them.

Moments like these we will always remember and hope that as they grow older that bedtime remains a bonding time for learning and sharing.

Snow, Snow, go away!

This is our third winter in Vienna and the snow keeps falling. Just when you think it's almost gone and cleaned up, we get hit with another big snow fall.

The girls of course are loving it. Aleia could play in the snow all day and all night. She even had a little party out in the snow with all her little children as she calls them. (Barbies and figurines)



Snow, Snow go away come again another day, and make sure it's a day when we aren't in town;-)

Being from Michigan you would think the snow wouldn't bother me but it is so different there then it is here.

In Michigan, it can snow and by the next hour the roads, side walks, and paths are completely clear.....AND the sun shines!

When you hear Austria you might think lots of snow, but normally not in Vienna. The snow will lightly fall and it's gone. So they aren't real preparred it seems for this much snow and everyday. It's a mess, and pretty dangerous at times.

Faith:

Is not believing that God can.....

......It is knowing that He will!

I was very encouraged by a message I recently heard by a great leader in our church.

He said that just as we have faith that when we sit down in a chair it (will) sustain us, not believing it will but knowing it will, is the same kind of faith we must have in God, that when we call upon Him He will listen, when we ask of Him He will provide, and when we lean upon Him He will be there to hold us up.

That is the kind of faith I want to have.....not just to believe but also to KNOW!

Kid Quiz

Answers dictated by Aleia, age 4.

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
Don't touch

2. What makes Mommy happy?
For her daughter to be nice

3. What makes Mom sad?
When I makes a mess

4. How does mom make you laugh?
Tickles me

5. What was Mommy like as a kid?
I don't know

6. How old is your Mom?
(5)

7. How tall is she?
(holds hand up)

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
Cook

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Goes Shopping

10. If your mom becomes famous, what would it be for?
A crocodile

11. What's your mom really good at?
Cooking

12. What's your mom not very good at?
Taking out the trash

13. What does your mommy do for a job?
Computer

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Guacamole

15. What makes you proud of your mommy?
When you make me french toast

16. If your mom were a cartoon, whom would she be?
a bird from Cinderella

17. What do you and your mommy do together?
Make some food

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We're Daddy's girls

19. How are you and your mommy different?
Mom,this job is making me tired and I'm so tired of it

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
When she takes care of me

21. What does mommy like most about daddy?
When he is home

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
The mall

Time for coffee

Here is my new beautiful coffee cup. There's nothing like drinking a yummy cup of coffee in a beautiful coffee cup. To me you don't need the atmosphere of a cafe as long as you have a gorgeous mug to drink it out of.

I was never a coffee drinker. Always loved the smell of coffee but was disgusted by the taste. I would do my best to enjoy a flavored coffee from Starbucks in attempt to be social but now I have to say I am a hard core coffee drinker, I still need a little pinch of sugar but can do without the cream, oh yes folks espresso, cappuccino the stronger the better, I love it and it's not just for social anymore.

The turning point for me was when we moved to Austria almost 2 1/2 years ago, I had to learn how to make coffee for different activity's for the church and one man came to me and said the coffee I made tasted like American Tea, well I said "SIR" then teach me how to make European coffee and he proceeded to teach me, and I've been making it like that ever since.

I think it's time for a cup of coffee, how about you?

The Team!

They are all gone, it's just Aleia, Brienna and myself here on the home front. The Suppan family have left for the states to see family and to be appointed in Missouri as our first Austrian Missionaries. Bro. Nathan Hulsman is in Germany doing the AMTC Bible college orientation. We have around 42 registered students. Charles is off to Switzerland to stabilize a house work that has been going for many years without a full time Pastor.

I'm happy to say I'm sticking around here, I'm teaching in the morning to the great leaders of the church on "the spoken word.....being Positive in your SPEECH) looking forward to that. Also Aleia has Sunday school in the morning and she's thrilled that she knows her Bible verse. It was a hard one this week.

We are so happy to have such a great team, without them it wouldn't be possible. We make a super team and we do even better making memories. So thankful for our church family and can't wait until they all are back home safe.

Stand to be corrected

It was brought to my attention that our blue fish is named Holly not Lily:-) Lily was the last fish we had that we had to send down to his family in the big world below us cause he needed a fish doctor to help him get better.

Holly is the blue fish, I'd been calling that silly little fish Lily for months, I stand to be corrected.

H.O.T (Holly, Oscar and Tax) our 3 little fish.

Monday Charles and I were treated to a fabulous 5 course meal by a sweet dear saint in the church who works at the Arc Hotel. The meal and setting of the 2 days were just what we needed. Even though we were in Vienna just having a sitter for our girls and being out of our house was a good enough get away for me.

We were able to go to the SiSi museum, enjoy a good lunch, do some shopping and relax. It was a timely get away, a much needed one.

Thank you to Sis. Debbie and the Capule Family for making it possible to have such a great time.