Mr. & Mrs. for 15 Years!!

5 - 10 - 15...each one of those year markers feels like they have come extremely quick! We step back and reflect in awe of the adventure we have lived together these past 15 years--5 homes, 2 countries, 3 kids and a guinea pig. We have come a long way since the day we said "I do". We have certainly changed in many ways, including grey hairs and maturing faces! However without a doubt we can say we have changed and grown for the better as Christ has remained the center of our marriage. Over the years we have had our seasons of highs living on love and seasons of drought as ministry, kids, health problems, cross-cultural living etc. sucked out all energies leaving little for the other. No matter the season we have remained committed to each other, but more importantly God has kept his promises and has been the life source of this marriage. We have grown to complete the other one's thoughts, know what the other is thinking by just a glance or touch. We have very diverse gifts and strengths but that is what makes us so compatibile. We can honestly say that we are more in love with each other than we were on August 19, 2000. We give God the glory for these past 15 years together!

I could not ask for a better partner in life, parenting, ministry and globe-traveling than my best friend and love of my life--I love you more everyday, Precious! Happy Anniversary!

We did get away for a little trip to celebrate our anniversary. The kids tagged along with us, and it was a fun way to celebrate. We spent two nights in Colmar, France. We rented a charming little place in the heart of Colmar that was a complete delight. I always have fun searching out places to stay and everyone was happy that my track record for good finds continues.

House with a view

A traditional Alsace decor with hearts, because the region is located at the heart of Europe. The apartment was on two floors complete with balcony perfect for an afternoon coffee and reading break.

Colmar is such a beautiful and romantic city located near the borders of Germany and Switzerland. We were married in Solvang, the Danish capital of America and Colmar gave us a similar feel which made us reminisce of our wedding all the more.

However, we also chose to visit Colmar because it is the home of the Isenheim Altarpiece painted by Matthais Grünewald in 1512-1516. Jonathan has been wanting to see this work of art in person so it was a win-win place to choose. The Unterliden Museum was closed for remodelling so the altarpiece was moved to the Dominican church. This hugely cut down our museum viewing time but since the goal was seeing this specific piece it all worked out. It is nice that all the museums we visited on this trip offer free audio guides with the ticket. This greatly helps to keep the kids engaged and explain things as opposed to reading plaques. We got much less "when are we done?" questions.

After checking off this must see in the early morning we had the rest of the day to just wander and explore. We took a little train ride that the kids enjoyed and we learned more about the history of the Colmar. Did you know that Auguste Bartholdi, the man who sculpted the Statue of Liberty was born in Colmar? There are many original Bartholdi sculptures located throughout the city. A large 12 meter replica of the "Liberty lightening of the world" can be found outside of town, but this was as close as we saw giving honour to the famous sculptor and his world famous masterpiece...

The kids had no difficulty in choosing an afternoon snack. The Bretzel-Donuts were a hit and Luca got two rounds of them! Emma thought it was cool to eat French fries in France. Luca endured a French pizza declaring that Italian is better. At dinner Samuel said he has eaten better but the ice cream made up for it. Jonathan and I had a regional speciality of pork knuckle (ham hock) with Sauerkraut topped with Munster cheese and Cremini mushrooms. The German influence was definitely noted with their food. It was super good, rich and filling.

The food displays were so beautiful. I always enjoy seeing regional specialties.

The smallest house in Colmar (the red one). It is a law that each house is painted a different color than its neighbor.

The following pictures are from "Little Venice" named because of the canal running through that section of town.

As you can see every corner was picture worthy and thus it was really hard to narrow my picture selection down for this post. You can count it as your virtual vacation for the day. :)

What more can I say? It was the perfect place to spend our anniversary! Stay tuned for our little Reformation tour through Geneva and Basel on our way to and from Colmar.

Goodbye July

If I could describe the month of July in one word it would be: HOT! Only these final couple of days of the month have brought us some much needed relief. We will have this weekend to enjoy the upper 70s and mid-80s before we climb back up into the 90s again. Poor Jonathan has had a hard time breathing through his nose with the heat which leads to light headedness and tingly arms. He saw the doctor and was told to try to stay in cool places and use some nasal spray. Kind of hard when we don't have AC in our house nor car, but we are thankful to have found a couple of remedies that have made breathing better for him. He might look a little funny with his nose "ring" but at least it opens up his airway to breathe instead of passing out.

Air conditioning the old fashioned way

Watermelon takes SO good for everyone on a hot day

Samuel and Emma, whose rooms are on the upper floor have had to relocate for the summer. Samuel has been sleeping in the basement laundry room and Emma has bunked up in Luca's room. All in all, everyone is happy with their new summer sleeping arrangements and thankfully we have slept fairly well despite the heat.

After several nights with two in the laundry room it ended up not being such a cool place.

The kids and I enjoyed a day at the pool last week. There is a sports complex at the end of our street that has an outdoor pool. We went during the lunch break for three hours since it is half price then. It was our first time at the pool and I should have known better that they would not be allowed to swim without swim caps. I brought with us the two caps we did had and therefore, the kids had to take turns swimming. We bought more caps this week and will plan to go back on Monday. For me, it was three hours of complete relaxation sun bathing and reading--down time I don't always give myself, but should. Let's hope we can make it a weekly activity for August as our ministry schedule slows down.

Total relax for the mamma

Thankful we had no fights over taking swimming turns

We started our jobs course just two days after we got home from Michigan. That takes up 2 mornings a week, another morning was usually filled with baking for an afternoon ministry at a local charity, and yet another morning for a team meeting, which left us with just one free morning a week that we usually used to do grocery shopping or yard work. I have lots of house projects that I hope to get done yet this summer like sanding and staining shutters and painting some rooms, but the heat has really slowed down my motivation and energy levels. I did get one set of window shutters completed last weekend and hope to finish some more on this cooler weekend.

Retained shutters on the left vs. unfinished on the right

The garden has been producing a good amount of cucumbers and tomatoes that the kids enjoy harvesting. We have made several jars of pickles and eaten a lot of tomato, cucumber and feta salad. We still have nothing on our zucchini plants but maybe August will bring some results, even though someone told me today that the heat is to blame.

Getting sidetracked from gardening work to play with lizards

Lots and lots of cucumbers...

Refrigerator pickles..oh, so yummy

The kids have been doing lots of indoor activities this month. Samuel continues to diligently write his book and work on summer homework, Emma has been busy drawing and building a doll house that someone gifted her and Luca has faithfully completed at least 2 pages of homework a day while working on his drawing and game playing skills. He loves games so we have played a fair amount this month on hot afternoons. Settlers of Catan has been introduced and embraced by the kids which has been a fun for us all in addition to the usual favorites of Bonanza, Bananagrams, Quiddler, Skipbo and Monopoly Deal.

Emma's drawing that she did yesterday

We say goodbye to July and anticipate the month of August with some planned family getaways and hopefully more tolerable temperatures during a slower month of ministry.