Puerto Rico, Part 1

~Saturday (September 28)

As I mentioned yesterday, our family recently returned from a vacation to Puerto Rico! We went with my Mom’s side of the family: her parents, and her brother and his family. Our purpose in going was to visit my maternal grandfather’s mother (our great grandmother.) She is 98 years old, and despite the fact that she’s in great health for her age, we wanted to make sure we saw her one more time before she dies.

The day we left found most of us up fairly early. Our flight was around 9 a.m., so we had to leave the house around 6 a.m.

We made it safely through security and enjoyed a light breakfast before our flight.

Photo Credit: Roma.

Our flight was fairly uneventful. The scenery was quite pretty as we flew over the Caribbean. We even saw a rainbow (picture above!)

Photo Credit: Roma.

We arrived in Puerto Rico in the late afternoon. Our driver met us at the airport and we headed over to our hotel in Dorado. The rest of the family had flown in from Ohio earlier in the day. Once we arrived, we settled into our room and met up with them. This was the view from our balcony!

Photo Credit: Betsy.

Our family was quite hungry after having a light breakfast and no lunch. The others had already eaten dinner, but still joined us at the hotel restaurant while we ate.

I think one of the best meals of the week was what I had the first night: mofongo made with yuca, chicken, and plenty of garlic. It was *so* good!

After eating, we walked around outside. We were quite excited to fully enjoy the beach the next day!

Photo Credit: Betsy.

We all showered up and crashed in bed after our long day of travel. We were looking forward to some time to relax as a family on Sunday!

~Sunday (September 29)

Sunday morning we all enjoyed sleeping in. We ate a leisurely breakfast, and then met up in our hotel room.

We had a mini church service as a family! We read Proverbs 29 and discussed it together. We sang a song, prayed, and then headed down to the pool and beach where we spent our entire day.

We cleaned up in the late afternoon and then met downstairs for Happy Hour. We enjoyed some snacks and drinks while waiting for our dinner reservation at 6:30 p.m.

For an appetizer that night, we had jibaritos. It’s a fried plantain topped with guava pulled pork and pico de gallo. Quite tasty!

For my main course, I had arroz con pollo with guacamole and tostones. I only ate about half of it, but it was true Puerto Rican comfort food!

We were all quite excited for the next day: Tita (our great grandmother) would be arriving!

To be continued . . .

The Blog Post That Almost Wasn't

I had planned to write a post today about our family vacation to Puerto Rico (which we just returned from.) I was looking forward to a leisurely day since we’re still on vacation another week while we have family visiting us in Texas. But—as happens quite often—my day turned into an unprecedented adventure!

This morning, we got a text from someone my Uncle needed to have a meeting with. They wanted to know if we could be there in an hour. I quickly ate some breakfast and left to take him. After we dropped him off, Ben and I went to Starbucks and relaxed for about an hour while we waited for him to finish.

On our way to pick him up, we swung by church so I could drop off a book and pick up a different book from one of our Pastors. Then we picked up my Uncle and drove down the road to show him around the airport and the area where my Dad works, while we killed time before his next appointment at 12:00 p.m.

I took him over to that meeting, and then Ben and I went to Walmart and did our non-perishable grocery shopping. We still had time to kill before picking up my Uncle, so we went to a bookstore and browsed for awhile.

That’s when the adventure began. When I came outside, I noticed my tire. I had known I needed to replace it soon, but I wasn’t expecting this soon. I texted a picture to my Dad to find out how bad the situation was.

Then we drove back to pick up my Uncle. The three of us went to McAlister’s Deli for lunch. As we were sitting there, I get a call from my Dad. He says NOT TO DRIVE ON A TIRE LOOKING LIKE THAT. I talk with him for a few minutes, trying to determine our options. I hang up and call Mom to discuss it with her. Then she hangs up to call my Dad. She calls back and says we should drive over to Sam’s Club which was only a quarter-of-a-mile down the road. She had talked with someone there who would get us all hooked up with a set of new tires.

We finish our lunch and drive over there. We find the guy she talked to, and he tries to find our member number. The number we gave him supposedly expired and he couldn’t’ find the new one. We tried looking it up by name, phone number, and zip code before we finally found it. Twenty minutes later, they finally start working on the car and tell us we have 45 minutes to an hour to wait.

So we decide to do our perishable grocery shopping at Sam’s Club. We get all that done, and still have to wait about 15 minutes in the cafeteria.

Once we finally got the car, we drove to Braum’s to pick up some ice cream to have later that week. Somehow, I got lost. I get on the freeway when I wasn’t supposed to and missed the turn. I have to get off, turn around, and go back around.

We FINALLY get the ice cream and head for home. We didn’t arrive until about 4:30 p.m. We had expected to be back by 1 or 2 o’clock.

After all that running around, I was very tired! So that, my friends, is why there is no vacation post yet. J I promise it will come soon! If I can manage to have a normal day, sans any unexpected adventures, that is . . .

Compassion

La Montagne, Haiti

“This is what it looks like, I thought. We sit in church and TALK about compassion, unimaginable love, revival. And then an hour later, we are still sitting there talking about it. REVIVAL is happening. NOW. Compassion is working; unimaginable, selfless love is real. It is right here. I can stand and watch the children I have loved and cared for compassionately love and care for others. My five year old knows how to be Jesus. My heart is so full.”

(Katie Davis, www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com, January 24, 2009)

“Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not He who guards your life know it?
Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done?”

Proverbs 24:11-12

~ posted by Betsy ~

S'more Pie

When I saw this pie recipe on the Tasty Kitchen blog, I knew that I had to make it. I had to wait almost a month though, because we were gone for several weeks. But when I finally got around to making it recently, it was everything I had hoped for! Gooey, chocolatey, and graham cracker-y. This pie is decadent, and delicious!

I am thinking about trying this in cobbler form. We ended up scooping it more like a cobbler, because our slices didn’t quite stand up by themselves. Either way, this pie is incredible!

S’more Pie

1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

7 oz. container marshmallow creme

8 whole (1.55 Oz Bars) Hershey's chocolate bars, unwrapped

1 cup mini-marshmallows

¼ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9″ pie pan.

In a large bowl beat butter and sugar together until combined, then add egg and vanilla and stir them in. Stir in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder.

Divide the dough in half. Press half the dough in the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie pan. Evenly spread the marshmallow creme over the bottom crust. Separate chocolate squares and place on top of the marshmallow creme. Place 1 cup of marshmallows on top.

Using the remaining crust, pat sections of dough on top of and around all the marshmallows (they will show through a little bit, but that’s ok!)

 

Sprinkle with chocolate chips, then bake 20 minutes until lightly browned.

Remove pan from oven and set it on a wire rack.

Cool completely before cutting, or you will have a gooey mess. Not that I know . . .

Enjoy!

 

Break

Delicious Fettuccini Alfredo with basil and tomatoes, served with salad.

This school year, Mom has enjoyed a break from cooking several nights a week. The twins have really stepped up to help with cooking, and regularly cook dinner one night a week. Plus, they can often be found cooking up something healthy for their lunches. It’s always fun to see the meals they come up with! And always a pleasure to have someone else cook for you. J

Turkey sausage.

Homemade ranch dressing atop a chopped salad.

Promises

Sometimes it's hard to keep believing in what you can't see

That everything happens for a reason even the worst life brings

If you're reaching for an answer and you don't know what to pray

Just open up the pages, let His Word be your strength

And hold on to the promises

Hold on to the promises

Jesus is alive, so hold tight

Hold on to the promises

And all things work for the good of those who love God

He holds back nothing that will heal you, not even His own son

His love is everlasting, His faithfulness unending

Oh, if God is for us who can be against us

So, if you feel weak

Just hold on to the promises

Hold on to the promises

Jesus is alive, so hold tight

Hold on to the promises

Neither life nor death could separate us

From the eternal love of our God who saves us

--“Promises” by Sanctus Real

Josiah's Projects

When I go to upload Mom’s camera, I’m never quite sure what I’ll find on it. J Since we older kids have our own cameras, Josiah is the primary user of Mom’s little Canon point and shoot.

In the most recent batch of pictures, I was amazed at how busy my little brother is! I thought I would post some pictures from some of his most recent projects, most of them for school, and others just because he wants to!

While Mom, Dad, and the twins were at the Rangers game, Josiah and I did some cooking together! We made Salvadoran Pupusas. They were quite tasty, even though they weren’t completely authentic.

Josiah recently saved up for and purchased his first tomahawk. Safety conscious as he is, he patiently waited until Dad got home that evening to learn how to throw it. He is now on the lookout for any snakes that may need killing. J

As another school project, he made a volcano from clay, baking soda, and colored vinegar. I’m sorry that I missed the eruption!

Josiah and I have been doing a North American Folk Art curriculum together every other week. We learned about Native Americans and Josiah made this Indian totem pole!

Josiah has been on a “Lone Ranger” kick lately, and has watched quite a few of the old, black-and-white TV episodes on DVD. He decided to make his own mask.

He has also taken to building card structures. He’s gotten quite good at it!

Another cooking experiment with Bianca! (I can’t help it; it’s what I love! J) The weeks we don’t do his folk art curriculum, we cook from a book with recipes that correspond to a Bible story. After studying Daniel in the Lion’s Den, we made these Lion faces. They were a savory scone base made with cheese and decorated with olives. It was a hit afternoon snack!

And finally, he colored this picture and practiced his cursive by writing a Bible verse of encouragement. Then he went with Mom to take dinner over to our elderly neighbors. As you can see, he’s a busy boy! J

"Accelerated Distance Learning" Book Review

I knew one of the first books I wanted to read after I graduated high school was “Accelerated Distance Learning” by Brad Voeller. Not only did Mr. Voeller co-found College Plus (the college coaching program I will be starting in January), he also earned his fully accredited, 4-year college degree in less than six months for less than $5,000. That is no small feat!

As the subtitle says, this book articulates a new way to earn a college degree in the twenty-first century: via accelerated distance learning. The foundation of the book is laid by first discussing WHY a new trail is/should be blazed in higher education.

In the second part of the book, Voeller talks about the different facets of distance learning. These include chapters on credit-by-examination, portfolio assessment, internships, taking online and correspondence courses, and more.

The third section of the book shares important skills related to accelerated learning. These include speed reading and memory strategies. The fourth part of the book pulls all of these elements together and makes it all practical and applicable.

I would highly recommend this book to several groups of people. First would be parents of children who are in middle or high school. Accelerated Distance Learning is an excellent way to earn a degree while saving LOTS of time and money. I would also recommend this book to students in middle and high school as well. What appealed to me so much about Accelerated Distance Learning is the fact that I can earn my bachelor’s degree quickly, efficiently, and at the same time that I’m doing so many other “real life” things! I am not tied to a college campus for four years, and I will not be strapped with an enormous amount of debt afterwards. There are so many positives to this method!

Anyone can benefit from reading the portions on speed reading and memory work. Those are valuable skills that can be used in everyday life!