Ummm . . . seriously?

So this week has to have included hands down one of the weirdest moments of not only my time here, but perhaps in my 28 years of living. Our company consults with area kindergartens to supply English teachers, and this week I pitched in to help out at a children's English camp. The schedule for Monday said butterfly garden, which I figured would be relatively simple. "The flower is BLUE", "the butterfly is BIG" is simple enough to say 150x in a hour in an insanely slow pace, so no big deal, right? It was raining when the kiddos arrived at the park, but no worries, come to find out there were "other" attractions at this particular venue. Imagine my surprise to see this:

 Followed by this:

 

All to announce him:

  

Yes my friends, your eyes are not deceiving you. We had come to watch an extravaganza of "little people", or as I noticed on a sign later "The Dwarf Empire", and the man you see above in the "King of the Little People". Singing, dancing, tiny motorcycles - you name it, this place had it. I took pictures partially out of complete disbelief, and also because I knew my husband would kill me if I didn't. (And if you STILL think there is no WAY this can be true, see here or here).

And of course no empire of little people is complete without . . . wait for it . . .

The cow with a fifth leg growing out its back. I know, I know, just when you thought it could get absolutely NO MORE ridiculous, it did. And this my friends, THIS, is my life.

Ummmmm . . . seriously?

If you need me . . .

I'll be at . . .

I'm filling in for a team member of ours at English Summer Camp for the first part of this week. This is basically a week where local kiddos get away to study . . . wait for it . . . ENGLISH! Just how you wanted to spend your summers as an eight year old, right? So far my favorite activities on the schedule include "milk", "find the deer", and "learn to wash our socks starting at the beginning." Thankfully these all follow nap time. : ) Wish me luck! Good night campers!

This is No Lie.

But this weekend, I made quite possibly the most delicious chocolate cake. EVER. Now, I can say this, because I was raised by a woman who taught me "if you can read, you can cook." So, I in no way am being obnoxious or a braggart, but simply affirming the divinity of Ina Garten.

A handful of our good friends graduated from college this past week, so we thought a full on feast was due to celebrate. I made Ina Garten spaghetti & meatballs (minus the veal + homemade tomato sauce [canned anything is kind of a no go here]).

Italian herb bread:

 

And then, the mother of all goodness . . . 

And yes, this little piece of culinary perfection was my first (a) layered cake of any nature and (b) attempt at buttercream icing. I added some sprinkles to make it more festive, but just looking at this picture makes me want to slam my face in it, and I'm not even really a cake person!

And sadly, I took NO pictures of the anything past the cooking part of my day - but I promise it was a wonderful and delicious evening with precious, precious friends!

So, moral of the story, go HERE, and bake this as fast as humanly possible. Trust me, you'll thank me later. Ina don't tell no lies.

Happy Father's Day to Dan the Man!

World's Greatest Dad - June 9, 1983 . . .

Now the World's Greatest Granddad (or "Dumpy" as the first grandchild calls him), June 9th, 2011!

I love you Dad - 28 years later, you are my and two tiny Hall girls' hero!

*Promotional thanks given to my rock-star sister in law for having my newest niece ON my birthday. Seriously Beth, you're too much - a gift card would have done the trick! : ) Love you!!

Besties

Recently we had dinner with some of our dear friends, who we realized we have celebrated every American & local holiday with. Spencer and his girlfriend Mary (not their given names), have been friends of ours since the very first weeks we moved here, and we love sharing our lives with them.

As we were wrapping up a wonderfully fun evening together and exchanging good bye pleasantries, another dear friend who was present happily proclaimed in English that we were all "BFF's". Spencer scratched his head and thought. Even having studied English for a number of years, he was stumped.

He slowly sounded it out "Best . . . Friends . . . hmmm", and then suddenly and proudly proclaimed "Oh! I know - Best Foreign  Friends!" We all of course died laughing, and decided that although not the original idea, his assessment was perhaps an even better description of our friendship.

I am so, so happy to have such fun and hilarious BFF's!!

Recently I have been meditating on the passage in Matthew, where Peter walks on the water to meet Jesus. I have been reading through Matthew for the past several weeks, but for some reason I haven't been able to move past this passage for the past several days.

I love this story for many reasons, probably because of how easy it is to relate to Peter's bold and yet quickly evaporating faith. I think it's so easy to identify with his sincere desire to meet with the Lord, and probably even more easy to identify with his literally sinking doubt. So often I find myself in the same position, so eager to be near to Jesus, but yet overcome by the questions or uncertainties around me.

I think it's easy to get lost in the swells of our circumstances, or for me, the never ending tide in my own mind. The "what ifs" lurk around every corner, and as a recovering perfectionist, the questions of "is it/I enough?" are ever present. But this morning, as I sat again meditating over these words, this particular verse grabbed me:

"Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 13:31

I think in my experience, this particular verse is used to illustrate for the nine millionth time our inevitably lacking faith. Sure, I get it. My attitude and actions so often say that I simply don't trust Him. But the past few days, what has really captured me was how Jesus immediately reached out and took hold of Peter. This is so reassuring to me, that in light of his doubt and despair, Jesus moved immediately. The loving Father, tenderly near, and eager to rescue.

But this morning, it dawned on me that Jesus moved to be neared to Peter before He calmed the storm. It's as if Jesus was more concerned about communicating his presence and protection than He was about the raging storm around them. What a word for my heart today! So often I find myself wrapped up in worry, questions, or prayer about the storms around me . . . overlooking that Jesus is more concerned about our intimacy first. How often have I looked past His reach to the waves, wailing even louder about how, when, and will He move to still them. And yet, as I see here with Peter, Jesus is more concerned that we take His hand in trust first.

He is, was, and will be Lord of our storms. He is always faithful, and in a word brings peace to our chaos.

But first, He desires to be our salvation, intimate friend, and sweetest assurance.What tenderness, that in the midst of all we create, imagine, and fear, He desires that first we would look away from what threatens to overcome us, and see His hand. He is first concerned that we might intimately know and trust Him, and safely in His arms, we might say with the awed disciples "Truly you are the Son of God!"

They Make My Heart Smile

My Conversation Class

This past week we taught our last normal classes of the semester in the hotter than Hades town we travel to teach in once a month. I found myself getting sentimental as my first class ended as I realized how these students have been a significant part of our life and journey this first year. From the first few classes where our language was next to non-existent, these students have been patient, encouraging, and just overall fun. In the frequently gut-wrenching process of language and cultural acquisition, these students have been a place of joy and purpose for me. I am so grateful for their sweet smiles and open hearts - they have been such a blessing to me this year!!

Grade One Students (10th Grade equivalent)
Don't worry about ole Fang Fang on the far left, she's not high or sleeping, promise!

My Grade Two class (Junior equivalent)
Are those gang signs over my right shoulder?
If that little bit didn't giggle every time she opened her mouth I might be worried!

I just love these kiddos to pieces, and am thankful I still have a week of fun with them during our upcoming English camp. There will be 20+ foreigners on their campus for a week - hopefully after a year of hard work they will have the courage and confidence to say more than "Hoaw ah you?!"