let it snow!

Big white fluffy flakes all day. It's the day after Christmas and it's all white outside. We woke up to find a couple of inches of snow on the ground and that a dead tree fell on 2 sections of our horse paddock .

We spent some of the morning picking up the house and then we all got suited up and headed out into the white world.

David got the tree cut up w/his chainsaw and David & Caleb drug the cut up pieces over and put them on a sled and Saber and I pulled them over to the log pile. While we were working in the paddock we let the horses out into the pasture to run and that's when we noticed that the bottom of their tails have frozen into dread locks and click together when they run around. They had a ball kicking up their heels out there.

After the work was done the kids all broke out their new paintball guns and it was on. They ran all thru the woods and yard in 2 teams. I'm not sure who won, but I think they all had fun.

After all of that we came inside and warmed up in the hot tub and then the kids went down to the basement to play rock band.

Later on in the afternoon I decided to make snow ice cream, but this time I tweaked the recipe a little and it was the best snow ice cream I've ever made.

Here's the recipe for anyone who'd like to try it:
1 egg beaten
3/4 cup sugar (give or take a little)
3/4 cup milk (give or take a little)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tub of cool whip (this is the part I added)
mix it all together and then fold in CLEAN snow until it has the consistancy of ice cream. I'm not big on measuring so I just am guessing on some of these amounts:)
If you get it right though it tastes like homeade french vanilla ice cream. YUM!

Today was such a fun day just because we got to stay home and enjoy the fresh snow. Tomorrow reality will set in when we're trying to get to church in this mess!

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Christmas Card & Letter 2009

Comfort & Joy 2009
2009 has been a year that has spanned many emotions for our family but in everything, God has been faithful to bring us much comfort & joy. January brought Caleb’s 16th birthday and that meant another licensed driver in our house. Caleb loves spending time w/his friends in the YG. He also loves playing the drums & any kind of sport or game.

In February I was able to go to Haiti on a work team from our church. It was good to see my sister’s family and experience the country. In April we spent Easter break in Gulf Shores along w/about 40 other Meisters. In May Logan turned 12. He is the finder of all lost things in our house. He really has a knack for it! He also is his father’s shadow.

In July Luke turned 9 and is big into skate boarding. He is also still very creative and loves making things w/paper, tape & scissors.
Also in July Caleb’s best friend “BJ” went home to be w/Jesus. He had battled a heart condition all 17 years of his life. He was such a great friend to Caleb, we miss him very much.

In August we took the kids to Colorado. It was a good time for our family to just be together hiking, backpacking, & fishing.

In October David & I were so blessed to go to Greece for our 20th Anniversary. The highlight of the trip was sitting on Mars Hill. Awesome. On October7th David turned 19. He is enrolled at ICC in their Graphic Arts program. He also is enjoying his friends in the YG and plays the guitar and has been learning to play the piano off of youtube (hey, it’s free:). On the 18th we were saddened to hear that my little nephew “Gabriel” was killed in an accident in Haiti. We are praying for God’s comfort &for healing in my sister’s family and we know that He is faithful and good. Jessica turned 15 on the 20th of October and has gotten her driving permit. She is taller than me now and loves to hang out w/her cousins and the YG.

David is plumbing the addition at OSF and God has continued to bless my photography business so we are both staying plenty busy.

We want to wish you God’s blessings in the coming year.
Love,
The Sauders

A VERY SPECIAL "THANKYOU" TO ALL OF MY WONDERFUL CLIENTS....IT'S BEEN ANOTHER AWESOME YEAR! MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES IN THE YEAR TO COME!

Dealing w/a landslide

For those of you who haven't been out to our house lately you may not know that we have been dealing with a pretty major landslide off the side of the dam of the lake. The one we live on and drive across everday. Made for an exciting trip with the snow & ice last week. It started sliding one night in Sept. when we had a ton of rain. At first it just cracked and slid about 4-5 inches, then 8, then stopped at about 18 inches.
Anyway, we've had one excavating company come out and rework all the soil, knock down the trees and add dirt to the slide, to which that very next day, in the rain, I planted the entire side of the dam w/grass seed. The grass came up beautifully all thru October. Then we had a bunch more rain, and another crack, and another slide...a big one. So for the past 2 months we've been driving past a 5 foot cliff everyday. Oh yeah, did I mention we now have 3 teen drivers?
So after consulting another man that deals w/slides, he recommended we get concrete scrap slabs hauled in and dumped over the side. We called the trucking company and they said they'd call us as soon as they locate the concrete. Yay!
Then, I get a call today, while I'm in Peoria that they are on their way out w/a couple of loads and they are not sure if they can dump it off the side. So David & I rush home to find that they were successful in dumping the first load off the side but just barely. The second load ended up in the middle of the drive. So at 5:30 tonight my amazing husband and I moved about 16 tons of scrap concrete by HAND off of our road. Some of the slabs David moved had to weigh at least 300lbs. This is the reason I don't join a gym to "work out".
Tomorrow they are supposed to come w/4 more loads so that should be fun. I think we may need a skidsteer.

Introducing the "Mini"

I'm excited to post the new "Mini" session that will be available starting January 2010. I've needed this for quite sometime. Whenever I have someone bring in a toddler and 20 minutes later we've gotten all the shots we can get from him or her, I always felt bad because they paid for a full hour session. So this session will last only 30 minutes will be only $30. I think it will be a perfect solution for antsy toddlers or even for the kids that cooperate so well that we don't need a full hour.

Home w/out injury

We got home from Galena on Sunday night. I'm happy to say that no one was injured (in our group) One of the boys friends did end up w/a dislocated shoulder, or something so that's a bummer.

We had really good weather and the kids had a great time.

Today was the day I had set to be my last day of work but I'm realizing that's just not possible. I'm getting flooded w/orders everyday so that means that it will be at least another week of filling them.

I'm also trying to get caught up on bookwork (my most unfavorite) and finish up my Christmas shopping.

I've had 2 different things come from online and not be what they were supposed to be so I get the fun job of returning them and so I'm STILL not done. I've been almost done for 2 weeks!

Well I've got 1 boy leaving right now to take finals at ICC and 2 that need to be on the bus in 10 minutes so I've got no business blogging. Gotta go!

A Christmas Tree

We did it, we were able to go out today to the Old Dairy Barn all together as a family and pick out a Christmas tree w/only a tiny bit of teasing and arguing from the boys. It is home and up in our basement and twinkling w/lights and the house smells like a forest....mmmm! I did miss the smell last year when we put up the dreaded fake one!
Walking up and down the aisles of trees w/our kids brought back so many memories of when they were little and so excited. The younger ones still are but the older kids are stalking behind us, one teasing the younger boys and one w/his sunglasses and mp3player....I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss having the little ones. Not the wiping noses, and changing diapers part, but the way they just can't wait to do stuff like this and how everything is soooo cool part...I miss THAT part:) They grow up WAY to fast! After we picked out our tree and we're walking back to the barn to pay for it Luke looks up at me and says "Mom, when I move out and am single what will I do for Christmas?" I told him no matter how old he is or where he lives he can always come home for Christmas. I think because we have older boys, it makes me treasure the cute things the younger ones say at 12 and 9.

Yesterday I finished up my last couple sittings. They are up on my site and besides some backing up and keeping up w/orders I am officially done taking pics until the 30th! Now, maybe I should do something crazy and take pics of my own kids?

Next weekend we are planning on taking them up to Galena for some snowboarding and they ALL are excited for that. Boards and boots are beginning to appear all over the house. As I'm typing this there is a board on the living room carpet next to me. Logan came downstairs the other day in full gear. Yep, I'd say he's pretty excited.

Jessica & Caleb are both in the Bible class Christmas play this year so this whole past week they've had either practice or a performance every night except Friday night. We stopped in tonight and watched the play. Caleb was a Wise man and Jessica was a ninja and a diner. They did great on their parts but I am happy that tomorrow is their last performance because they've hardly been home all week.

I think David & Caleb have friends coming over tonight to spend the night so I've got to get some sleep so I can get up and make breakfast before we head to church. I get to watch my little niece "Aubrey" tomorrow at church....she's a cutie!

first day of December?

I can't believe December is here already. The fall just flew by!!
I spent the morning editing a couple of sittings and putting in orders and getting other orders ready to mail out. I does seem like there are never enough hours in a day.

Had a fun session w/the Endress girls out at the studio but it was so nice that we ran outside and did a few fun shots. In December...who'd have thunk it?

Got home just in time to finish up dinner (my wonderful husband had already put the pheasants in the oven and turned it on) and had a nice dinner w/all 7 of us....so rare anymore.

We put up our manger scene last weekend, which is a really special tradition from my childhood and we started doing the same tradition the year we moved into our house. We had about 20 of my family over to sing carols and eat cookies & buckeyes...yum! Did I mention I've decided to diet during the holidays?
This saturday our plan is to get our Christmas tree. This will be the first time in 3 years that we've gotten to go out and actually cut one down at a tree farm. Two years ago we were iced in and walked down into the woods to find a make due tree...which my daughter despised and would not help decorate...it was a sad looking tree. Last year we were just too busy between the kids scedules and our own, so we put up a fake one...again the kids were not very happy about that.
So this year we've got it planned and on the calendar. Hopefully all the kids will be home because even if they're not...WE'RE GOING TO GET A TREE...unless there's another ice storm:)

my beautiful fridge

I think I've mentioned how much I hate cleaning, especially my fridge. Today I have discovered the solution to my dirty fridge. I walk w/some of my sisters and my mom every morning and today Judy was saying she just HAS to get pictures of some of her foals (she has a breeding farm). I told her I could maybe do it but I have to get some stuff done at home today, like laundry and get my fridge cleaned out. So she says that she'll trade me, if I take pics of her foals, she'll clean out my fridge. Boy did she get the bad end of THAT deal! I've decided this could really be the answer to alot of my cleaning issues, trading sittings for household chores:) I've got 3 toilets and 4 boys, 5 including my husband....any takers??? LOL!!!

Thanks Judy, my fridge is sparkling! I almost had to take a picture and post it:)

a wake up call

I've been reading this girl's blog http://www.amazima.org/blog.html and it's been so convicting to me. In some ways we have everything here in America, but when you look at things from an eternal perspective, we might be surprised to find that we have nothing. We are consumed w/our "stuff". I get so wrapped up in the everyday things that I am distracted from what really matters.
Yeah, I know that we have to live in this world and that we have to make a living but pretty soon it seems like that's ALL we're concerned with. Our enemy is so subtle and cunning. He knows that we aren't going to just choose evil over good but if he can distract us w/the inbetween, then we become lukewarm and BAM he's tricked us. Just like that. For those of you who don't believe we have an enemy, look around you. There is way to much darkness & strife in this world for there not to be an enemy. There is good news though because there is also a Savior of this world and His name is Jesus. He gave His life for us....all of us.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Help me Father to be consumed only w/You. Whatever that entails for myself and my family, only You.

Finally caught up!

As of right now, this very minute, I am for the first time in a month and a half....CAUGHT UP! Yay!!!!

It's such a great feeling. Granted I never did get my fridge cleaned out...hate that job...but all of my photography jobs are edited and online. I edited my 3 senior sittings from last night and put them online today and actually baked an apple pie while I did it. Quite the Susie Homaker huh? I have one more session this week and then a wedding w/formals on Saturday and then reception on Sunday.

Tomorrow I have a Dr. appt. in Pekin and then I'm thinking I need to tackle another job that I'm not too wild about....the dreaded Christmas shopping. I'm not a big shopper as it is so the whole run around to a million stores to find the perfect gifts for everyone (and they never are perfect so I have to remember where I put the receipts) and get them wrapped and to the right party, thing is not my idea of fun. But along w/everything else that I don't think of as fun...it must be done. Sigh.

We tell the kids they can put 3 things on a list and they may get one or even two but probably not all of them. Of course Logan asks for a TV (yeah right), and any kind of gun (sure, I'll get him that) and then of all things, some kind of new toothpaste. Luke asked first for a memory foam mattress topper and a super ball but now has decided to scratch the mattress and go for a longboard skateboard. The thing is, they'll change their minds over and over again all the way up till Christmas Eve so I had to tell them that tonight was the deadline and NO CHANGING YOUR MINDS! I really have no idea what my teens want at this point and I don't think they know either. They really don't need anything.

I was reading this missionary named Katie's blog today www.Amazima.org/blog.html in between editing and it just hit me how much we take for granted. We want for nothing here, while others have nothing to feed their kids tonight. We have been so blessed and deserve none of it.

Another weekend come and gone.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away! Still haven't found that pause button so things are still moving pretty quickly. I am feeling almost caught up at this point. Had to put it several late nights but it was worth it to get albums online. I know everyone's wanting to get their pictures ordered and cards done for Christmas so they did need to be done.

At this point I have 3 sittings to edit and only 4-5 sittings scheduled for this week but then I do have Raquel and Michael's wedding on Saturday and Sunday.
I'm so excited for this wedding because on Saturday I'm heading out to the family's clydesdale farm to take their formal wedding pictures! I think it's going to be so neat and I'm praying for dry, warm weather for Saturday.

Because of having a wedding at the end of the week I purposely limited my sittings during the week. I'm beginning to realize my limitations and a 7 sitting week is about perfect. I want to be able to give each client the time and attention that their session deserves.

It's taken me almost 4 years to figure this out but I think I'm starting to get it!

trying to keep up

I'm not very faithful at keeping up w/my blog. I knew I wouldn't be!

It's after 9:00 pm and again I'm finding myself still working. I just can't seem to get caught up. Even as I write this I'm uploading albums onto my website. I'm getting to the point where if I'm only doing 2 or 3 things at once I don't feel like I'm getting enough done.

Had 2 sittings in the studio last night and got home about 8:30, just in time to tell my younger boys "good night". Then today I had to help David (our oldest child) take some pictures for one of his classes at ICC first thing in the morning, get the kids off to school, pick up the house, run to the school to watch Luke march in the Veteran's Day parade, then back home to edit, then shoot 3 sessions, making dinner in between sittings, help David again w/a few more shots for ICC, feed everybody, then get the kids to bed. How come it seems like the days are so packed yet so short? I feel like someone pushed a "fast forward" button and for the life of me I can't find the "pause".

Tomorrow I have no sittings scheduled for the first time all week and it is also our 20th wedding anniversary so I will need to run into Peoria and pick up the cake that I ordered from Le Bakery. They made our wedding cake 20 years ago and it's been a tradition for me to do this every year on our anniversary because David loves their cake. It is really delicious!

Before I head to Peoria though I need to get at least 1 or 2 sittings edited or I will be even more behind and then pick up orders on my way in and get them mailed out. And sometime I've GOT to get my car in for an oil change...I think it's a thousand miles over! It seems like it never ends:)

Busy, busy, busy

The senior & family sessions are in full swing now. In the midst of cleaning up after our party I got another year older and my 9 year old gave me a present he picked out all by himself. A little cross shaped thing that looks like a gravestone...hmm. Ya gotta love 9 year olds:) The yearbooks have deadlines and the Christmas pictures need to be taken now so they can be designed into cards and sent out before the Holidays so I'm am busy, busy, busy.

This week alone I have 11 regular sittings and then a 90th bday party where 14 families would like pictures...whew! Next week is packed too.

So thankful to see the sun again though, even if I have to deal w/shadows I think everyone was ready to see that bright yellow ball in the sky. Some of the mud is drying up and who knows...maybe we'll get a little indian summer to finish up the fall sessions?

I spent the morning picking up and getting orders ready to mail then had a sitting at 3:30 and then edited 3.5 sessions and got done about 8:30 p.m. and then realized I needed to do my own kids pictures which I took Sunday morning so kept at it till 9:00. Luke said the other day, "Mom, you know that day when all the kids trade pictures at school? Well that day already past". Ugh! There it is again, that "mom" guilt. It just seems like no matter how hard I try I'm letting something slip. I have to pray everyday for help w/balance between career and husband and kids & help to put them back into the order that God wants them in. I'm thankful to be able to hand some editing off to Jenny of js designs because I'm pretty sure even if I worked around the clock (which sometimes I do) I wouldn't be able to keep up. She will be getting busy w/card designs in the next few weeks though so I know that this will just be temporary help. She really does a great job though and is a lifesaver to me.

Today I just have 2 sessions to edit and then maybe...that's a big MAYBE I'll tackle my fridge before I head off the the studio for tonights studio sessions.

My plan is to be done w/all work related things by Dec. 15th this year so I can take a deep breath...let it out....and celebrate the birth of my Savior, because w/out Him, I would be lost.

Happy Halloween!

We ended up with a little over 70 people for our annual costume party. I've already seen a video of it on youtube and several pics on facebook so I guess it was a success. I was pretty impressed w/the imaginations of everybody. David and I were Sampson & Delilia (spelling?) he wore a super long black wig and I carried scissors. I was pretty exhausted by the time everybody went home. My long time friend Becky came early and was a huge help through out all of it. She was a blessing for sure, always has been.

This morning it was NOT raining....YAY!!!! We got some of the house back in order and David cleaned up the party stuff in the garage. I had 4 sittings and the wind made for some dramatic hair shots. I kind of like when it's windy...it looks cool. Speaking of cool....brrr.

After the photo sessions it was time to take the boys trick or treating. It's so strange to just go w/2 kids. It's like we went from 5 to 2 in just a year and it seems like we have a super small family. We actually took a car instead of a van tonight. First time ever I think! Jessica went to help w/the Senior Citizen's dinner and the older boys had a couple of friends over and were heading out to Gilson School.

David's pulling some warm chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and we're going to watch an old Tim Conway mystery/comedy with the kids now so I'd better stop here.
Happy Halloween everybody!

Another rainy day...

I was thankful that yesterday was relatively dry because I had a couple of sittings outside at my house. They turned out pretty cute in spite of the gray day. Today it has been rain, rain, and more rain. I miss Greece, and sunshine, and warm. Okay enough whining.
I've been making costumes today. My 9 year old says "Mom, I want to be a fish". How in the world do you make a kid a fish???? I took an old white sheet and cut it out in the shape of a fish, sewed it up except for the tail and w/a little spray paint...it resembles a fish, kind of. Now for the big question, can he get it on? Tomorrow is the costume parade at school and our big family costume party at night. We are expecting about 70 people so I've got 15 lbs of ground beef thawing on my couter. Gonna make barbques.
I don't even think I'm going to clean....who'd notice w/that many people milling around in costumes?
I edited almost one whole sitting from yesterday and made a deposit and filled about 6 orders this morning and now it's time to run to Canton and pick up some more stuff for the party and to the DMV to take Jessica to get her permit....scary!

Playing "Catch up"

Another rainy day. I don't like 'em but they are good for catching up all the book work that's been piling up around me. I was able to get a lot done today but I did have to reschedule my 2 sittings that were scheduled for this afternoon. It's just gross out, muddy & gray! Got lots of new orders put in and cds burnt and mailed out. I also got all of my Saturday & Sunday sittings sorted and started editing them.

I'm hoping tomorrow I will be able to get all of the editing done and new albums posted from the weekend.

In between all the paper work I also managed to keep the laundry going. Not folded and put away but at least clean:)

I love being organized but it's so hard to GET organized. Another couple of rainy days though and I should be the queen of organization....just don't look in my fridge, it's scary in there!

Family Picture Day

So lots of my family has been asking when I'd have time to take their pictures for Christmas cards this year and I've been so booked since we got home so this morning I had an idea. I deemed today "Famiy Picture Day" and invited them all out to get their pictures done. I did my nephew Ben's family, my niece Amy's girls, and my nephew Nathan's kids, my sister's huge dog "Darcy" in her angel wings, & my mom on a pretty badly behaved horse. We also roped someone into taking the camera and getting some of my super willing kids:)

I'm uploading them right now and I know I got some really cute ones of the my adorable little great nieces & nephews. They are just plain cute! After we were done Nathan brought out a bunch of pizza and the kids played football and some volleyball.

I think we should do this every year. Now I just have all the editing to look forward to.....yuk!

Hanging in there...

Tonight was the visitation for Gabriel. I'm not yet able to verbalize too much of what's going on inside. I know my heart feels like it weighs a ton right now. These pictures are ones that I took of Gabriel and Faith while I was in Haiti earlier this year. Everynow and then, when I take a picture, I'll get this feeling that the picture is going to be very special. The one of Gabriel w/his arm around Faith was one of those pictures, I knew it as soon as I snapped it. I hope that it will help Faith remember her big brother.

I can't imagine what it's like to watch my son be broken and die....but I know that's what God did for us....He watched His Son be broken and die for each one of us. He must love us so much.

So many people came up to me and just hugged me and said "there are no words". You know, sometimes I don't think we need words. Sometimes we just need to be held, just knowing that we are loved goes a long way. If we really feel like we need to say words "I love you" can pretty much cover it.

Grab the people that are important to you and just hold them for a minute...and if you need to say words...tell them you love them.

Gabriel

We got some really sad news today. As we were getting ready to leave for church I got a call that my sister's husband, daughter, & son were in a bad motorcycle accident. They are missionaries in Haiti. Their son, Gabriel had a severe head injury and did not make it. He was such a fun little boy and we are going to miss him so much. Heaven became an even sweeter place today, but down here it's going to be hard.

When they were home this past summer I was taking their yearly pictures and he caught a toad. He was so proud of it that I just had to take his picture w/the toad. That's a real smile.

Please pray for healing for my sister's family.

Getting back to "normal"

So yesterday was a long day. Started working at 5:00 a.m. and worked till 5:00 p.m. then got went out to my sister's house in Maquon for a delicious steak dinner and then to Gilson School w/the kids and some other family members. It was fun but I know I was soooo out of it. Came home about 10:00 p.m. and don't ever remember being so tired.

It worked to keep myself up till 10:00, I slept till 7:30!!!!

Just got done w/3 great family shoots. The kids were cute and the sun out and we didn't get too cold. I was supposed to have a fourth shoot for one of Harn girls and just found out yesterday that her younger sister is in the hospital after having a brain tumor removed. Josie is doing well and it is not cancerous so that's good. Pray for their family and for a speedy recovery w/out any infection.

a very rude awakening:(

Jetlag...ugh! So we landed in PIA at about 5:45 pm, all the kids and David's parents were there to meet us:) Came home yawning the whole way. Get out of the car and immediately jumped on by Saber. I don't understand this dog, he's had the kids here the entire time and not been left alone but somehow he knows if I've been gone. He barely lets me out of the car! Muddy dog and light blue sweater...not a good mix.

Before I can make it into the house I noticed that our colt has gotten into the big pasture away from his mom and uncle Sunny. I also notice that they are out of hay so I open the gate and let them all into the pasture. It's COLD here!

We gave the kids their souveniers and then I made a pot of chilli (the canned kind) for their dinner and then tried so hard to stay up to watch Survivor and the Office. Made it thru Survivor but kept dozing during the office. David fell asleep through all of the office. After that I went to bed. I love my bed soooo much:)

However, I thought I would sleep for a good 10-12 hours. We had slept only about 4 hours out of the last 48 so I was like, no problem. Problem....2:30 a.m........awake. Lay there for an hour....still awake. Tried till 4:30 then gave up and came down to start the laundry....no laundry soap, used dish soap. Also noticed that the kids waited till today to do their laundry. Yeah, wait till our parents get home w/their 2 weeks of dirty clothes and THEN we'll do ours:) Teenagers...they are so cute at this age! I made some breakfast, maybe that will improve my disposition and I'll see the bright side to being home? I was too tired to eat last night so I am pretty grouchy. IT'S SO COLD HERE!

I've got more orders that have been put in. Lots of checks in...yay....but that means more orders for me to get in today....boo. I know I've got to pick up UPS today and get those orders sorted and mailed & make a deposit. I've also got about 12 sittings this week alone, starting tomorrow. I don't know about this reality thing.

Here are some other wonderful little treats to come home to. Our teen car's brakes are not working, the van stalled out the night before we left so I need to call and see if I can get it in to be looked at, Luke says "mom, you gotta get groceries, were all out!", our home phone line is not working, Jessica just told me some other things she REALLY needs (her bday is Tuesday), Logan has a paintball birthday party to go to on Saturday and "could I sign the forms and call the boy's mom and talk to her about it?" David needs to borrow my car for work this morning....the one he's been using since his brakes went out.....the one full of fastfood wrappers, all over the floor board. Yeah, that one, my car. OH YEAH, DID I MENTION THAT IT'S FREEZING HERE!!!!

This is a day that You've made Lord....help me to rejoice and be glad in it.
Pray for me today will you?

Greece day 13 "Last day in Athens"

So it's our last day in Greece, we fly out tomorrow at 5:00 am as long as we don't oversleep and miss our plane. I spent a few minutes this morning sitting on our balcony soaking up the sun. I am ready to get home and see the kids, I'm not ready to go home to face the COLD! I keep hearing how awful it is there.

We had our morning drinks and devotions and then headed out for crepes at 10:00. On the way out we HAD to take a pic in the lift here. It's the smallest elevator I've ever been in. You should have seen us w/our luggage in it when we got here. It was hilarious! We hopped on the metro after breakfast and headed back to Sintagma to feed some pigeons just for fun. Then we walked around the Plaka and shopped. Trying to get a few last minute gifts.

We decided to skip lunch because crepes can really stick w/you and went to finish Ancient Agora where there was another beautiful church and more ruins. The churches here are different. You may not wear shorts in them, long pants or jeans are okay though. Many people come in and kiss each glass covered picture then make the cross symbol and light a candle. There are lip marks on every picture in the church.

Another thing that's very different from USA is that almost EVERYONE smokes here. Old, middle aged, and young. Moms w/their babies right in their front packs...everyone. It's so strange because the we are so health conscious in America and it's so common here.

After Agora we went and saw the Theatre of Dionysus that is mostly in ruins but still impressive. Then we had supper at a traditional Greek Restaurant (even though TGIF is here and sounded pretty good) and caught the metro back home. We did stop on the way and get one more dessert crepe....yum!

We are back now at the apt. and finishing up the packing and then going to bed. We need to be up at 2:00 am. Pray for safe flights and hope to see you all on the other side of the pond:)

Greece day 12 "Athens"

Today we got up and for the first time it looked like some serious rain. Not like they've been having at home but still rain. It was okay because we were going to the National Archaeological Museum this morning but we were hoping to visit the Arkopolis in the afternoon. We went ahead and had our morning drinks and devotion and then headed out to find some Crepes. We hadn't tried them yet but seen signs for them. Oh my goodness! We've been missing out. Add that to the list of food that I love here. We got 2 and shared, one sweet, one salty. The salty one had bacon, cheese, cream cheese, green pepper, & tomato. The sweet one had strawberries, white chocolate cream, & coconut. Is your mouth watering yet? So, so good. I had to quote my dad and say that I regretted that I only had one stomach to give to my mouth!!! I was a little worried about how much going out to eat would cost here but it ends up costing us about 10 euros per meal for the both of us. We don't eat out at really fancy places because they take way to long though, but the up side of that is good food, cheap & fast.

After breakfast we hit the Metro and headed to the Museum. It was just starting to sprinkle. The museum is a huge place w/3 levels of artifacts. David had a scowling competition w/one of the exhibits. It won...can you believe it? He finally met his match:) We saw many, many very old things there. Lots of them they found in the bottom of the sea after a ship that was carrying them to Athens was shipwrecked.

As we left the Museum the sun started coming out so we stopped for lunch at a cafe and decided to chance it and head to the Acropolis. It was windy but dry as we climbed up the hill to see everything there. It's crazy to think that the built that huge temple in 10 years and have been trying to renovate it for the past 20. The main crazy thing though, is that the went to all this trouble for false gods.

After the Acropolis we came down and crossed a small side street and climbed up Mars Hill. For me this was the highlight of our trip. To walk up these completely smooth steps that Paul walked up. To think that he stood in the shadow of the temple of their false gods and told them about the one True God....just so cool to be in that place. I can't even describe that feeling w/words.

It also convicts me though to look into my own life and make sure that I have no idols that I'm putting before my Jesus. It's so easy to pick stuff up and set it in front of God and let it become our god. I pray that I can always recognize those things before they take His place in my life. We just can't get so caught up in building grand things here, because none of it's gonna last.

After Mars hill we came back to our apt. and are tossing around the idea of going out to dinner. It's almost 9:00 here though so I don't know if it's worth it.

Tomorrow we hope to finish Ancient Agora and maybe just take our last day here easy.

Greece day 11 "Athens"

Got up at 7:30 had some tea & coffee and read about Paul on Mars Hill in Acts then headed out to the Metro. We were unsure of what line to take and the people behind the ticket counter were less than helpful. We had some breakfast on the way and then went down into the subway. We eventually figured it out. It's not that different than the States but they were out of maps so it was a little insecure feeling to not be able to see where they were taking us. Then we noticed that they have a diagram on the inside of the train.

We did the Athens City Walk out of the Athens book and really enjoyed it. That book is so helpful at making sure you don't miss any sights. We saw the Parliament building & fed the pidgeons, caught a few, watched the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier, saw lots of churches and cathedrals, the temple of Zeus, and part of the Ancient Agora. It's unbelievable how many ruins are in this one city. The entire city is built on ruins. Every now and then we'd walk past a fenced off area that you could look down into and sure enough, there were more crumbling buildings, or old streets/walls.

There are lots of street vendors and we were able to find a mask for our sunroom wall, so David was thrilled. Then when we were all done sight seeing we did a very bad thing and ate supper at McDonalds. We couldn't resist. Big Macs for both of us! Yum. That was the first American food we've had since we left so it was a treat. I've got to tell you though, I LOVE gyros, greek salads, and their pizza is so good too. Also they've got lots of flaky crusted pastries. It's probably good that I don't live here all the time:)

Tomorrow we are planning to go to the Archaeological Museum in the morning and then back to Ancient Agora because it closed an hour earlier then the books said so we didn't get to see all of it. Then we hope to go to the Acropolis in the late afternoon.

Greece day 10 "Athens"

The first picture is of us infront of our apt. on Santorini.
We made it into Pireaus, the port of Athens at about 3:00 pm. We spent the 8 hour trip doing another chapter of the James Bible study and reading our book on Athens and I edited some more pics.

We had arranged to have a driver pick us up and take us to the studio we've rented and I'm very glad we did. This place is crazy! The traffic, the streets, it's all very confusing. We sure aren't in Santorini anymore! Crete & Santorini are very geared toward tourists and so far Athens is NOT. We can't even find anyone who sells maps of the city. I think the book that Phil Bossart sent us on Athens will be invaluable to us now. Thanks again Phil!

David and I got to our apt about 3:45 and met w/the rep from Athens Studios to get the keys. We also went ahead and arranged a ride to the airport for Thursday morning at 3:00 am....YUCK!

After that we fought w/the internet for awhile....still can't get my laptop hooked up to cable internet (found a wireless signal, low but still a signal). Then we headed out to find a phone to call home & get familiarized w/the area, try to find a place to eat, a store for some essentials to get us by, and a metro station for tomorrow, & a map.

After some confusion amid all the chaos that is this city we were able to find everything except a map, there are no maps anywhere! We got home and found some more info online and along w/the book we have a starting point for tomorrow.

I think we will be ready to head back to the sticks of Hanna City after a couple of days in this city. We both are really missing the kids. It's good to be able to talk to them but not seeing them everyday is just so weird. After this city, the chaos of 5 kids should be a cake walk...right????

Greece day 9 "last day on Santorini"

Today was our official "beach day" on Santorini since it was our last day here:( We have been blessed w/wonderful weather every single day of this trip! I woke up right before the sun came up so we went out to the balcony off the bedroom and watched it come up over the sea and then went back to bed. I was up till past midnight working on putting orders in because just when I was finishing up Caleb emailed me w/some payments so I wanted to get those in before we leave here in case I don't have internet in Athens.

We got up for real about 8:00 and checked email, had breakfast, and then grabbed our beach gear and headed out at 9:30. We drove thru lots of vineyards (that's what they grow on this island) to a beach that had a very steep road down to it. So steep in fact that we weren't sure if our car would make it back up. Lots of people drive around on 4-wheelers here so we thought maybe it's not for cars because it was dirt. We drove down it anyway and found another beach w/really cool sandstone cliffs and black sand on the beach. Another really interesting thing on some of the beaches is these little white pebbles that actually float! These sandstone cliffs are in the most beautiful shapes molded by God using the wind and water. We saw a guy fishing and lots of lizards but no one else at that beach and it was kind of rocky under water so we decided to go on to a beach called "Red Beach". Oh yeah, David has no place to work out so he's resorted to lifting big rocks at the beach:)

As we drove up to "Red Beach" we saw lots of big red boulders in the water. I was really hoping to find a nice beach to lay out on and a place to snorkel but it didn't look very promising. We saw some people hiking up a trail to the right so we followed and after we came to the top we looked down and saw the beautiful red sand beach. It had giant red cliffs and turquoise water. Neither one of us had seen anything like it before. We spent a few hours laying out and snorkeling. The water was COLD though (to me) but there were lots of fish and it was crystal clear. The picture of the red and black pebbles is about 8 inches under water just to give you an idea of how clear it is. After snorkeling we lay in the warm sun and bought a bunch of grapes from an older Greek gentleman selling them on the beach. Took a nap and then headed back to Perissa where our apt is.

We stopped on the way back at an overlook of the Caldera which is the center of the volcano that sunk the middle of the island after it erupted. It's now filled w/sea water and the island is shaped like a thumbnail moon. We also stopped to see some ruins of 2 old mills and chatted w/a couple from Athens. He is a graphic artist and shooting pictures for a book on Greece w/his wife. We told him we are heading to Athens tomorrow and he asked where we were staying and I told him I can't pronounce the name. He laughed and said he's been speaking Greek since he was born and he has trouble pronouncing the names too!

Once we got home I showered and then fell asleep on the deck for a little while and then we got ready and went out to a pizza place that cooks the pizzas and bread over a wood fire. It was the best meal we've had so far! We shared a greek salad, warm bread dipped in olive oil, and pizza w/ham, salami, peppers, onions, and olives. It was probably the best pizza I've ever had.

We have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow and turn our car in at 6:00 so we can be at the port for our ferry to Pireaus, Athens that leaves at 7:00. It is an 8 hour ferry trip so I'm hoping to get some pictures edited for a Greece Gallery on my website.
Goodnight!

Greece day 8 "Santorini"

Before we went to bed last night we got to go out on the big private balcony off of the loft bedroom (it was locked before & they dropped off the key yesterday). We watched the moon rise over the mountain. So pretty. This morning no alarm! I got up about 7:30, answered my email and did a tiny bit of work and then we had some breakfast on the balcony and then we did our James Bible Study out on the big balcony.

After that we grabbed a bottle of water and dried banana chips and of course the cameras and headed out. Today we drove just a couple of blocks from where our apt is to the base of the mountain. The trail head to ancient Thira is almost in our backyard. We hiked first up to a little church and then up to Thira. The sun is so bright here. We were expecting to just hike up (45 min) then look around for 15 minutes or so and then back down. Little did we know that the ruins of this village are a big deal. A lot of ruins, lots to see, information to read. These people didn't just make shelter, they built w/pillars and carvings and it dates back to 3 b.c. It really was very impressive and the view from up there was amazing! I even took a picture of the property we are staying at. We are in the round topped part w/the balcony door that we accidentally left open. We ended up staying up there for quite awhile and didn't get back down for lunch until almost 2:00.

Our plan was to spend the afternoon at the local beach but instead we just layed out on our balcony and then went into town for some shopping and dinner. One of the masks we brought leaks a little and we'd like to do some snorkeling tomorrow so we wanted to get a new one. We walked along the beach a little and then had supper at a nice restaurant right across the street from the water. One thing that's really different than America is that eating out here can take forever. We will sit at the table after we are done eating for such a long time and they will not bring the bill unless you ask. I think they would think our restaurants are terribly rude to bring your bill before you ask for it and even while you are still eating!

After dinner we came home and I've been working on filling orders for the past hour. I never have been able to get my laptop hooked up to the cable internet here and I'm afraid that Athens will be the same hook up but at least here there's a house computer that I've been able to use. So if I don't blog in Athens, you'll all know why. Waiting on one more order to go thru and I'm calling it a night.

Greece day 7 "Santorini"

More alarm drama. I thought David had reset the alarm for 7:30 am and he thought I did. Nope. It went off at 4:30 am. I thought it was 7:30 and I look out the window toward the sea and I'm thinking, man it's dark out there. I turn on the lights and am about to tell David that it's time to get up and I glance at the clock and realize IT'S 4:30 AM!!!! So, this is how super smart I am. I think that I reset it for 7:30....now I'm a little groggy at this time (that's the only excuse I have) and I accidentally set it for 6:30!!!! So off it goes at 6:30 and I realize at that time what I did but I can see out the window that the sky is turning pink and I'm thinking, we really should get up and watch the sun rise. This is the other strange thing, I can see the sky turning pink but I'm sure that I hear rain. We haven't had one day of bad weather yet and I was bummed because we were going to Oia today. I come downstairs and open the window on the door and sure enough it's raining. Then I go back upstairs and look out the window on the opposite side and see the sky is clear and turning pinker by the minute!!! Finally it dawns on me, they've got sprinklers running!!!! Yep, I'm pretty quick at 6:30 am.

We watched the sunrise from our balcony and of course snapped some pics. It really was worth getting up for even if it was on accident:)

We had some breakfast on the deck and then as we were heading out we had a knock at the door. A nice woman w/our breakfast. Oops! I forgot that they serve you breakfast here! We packed some of it up along w/our lunch and hit the road.

Okay so Santorini is not very big. You can drive around the whole island probably in about 2 hours....if you know where you're going. We took a wrong turn and right away started heading up the side of this huge mountain. I'm not kidding we were on the side of a cliff!!!! I was laughing and terrified the whole time and poor David is navigating these hairpin turns in a stick shift, dealing w/a nearly histerical wife, AND believe it or not HUGE TOUR BUSSES COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. Everytime we met up w/one we had to pull over to the side of the road....BY THE CLIFF!!!!!!!! The problem is there's not many places to turn around on a cliff, but as soon as we could we did and headed down.!

We made several wrong turns and saw lots of the island that we weren't planning on seeing today but hey, it's all beautiful no matter what day you see it on. We ended up in Oia, this is the place that's famous for pure white churches w/the round blue roofs and the sea and cliffs in the background. Yeah, we were there. We took a ton of pics. It really is some awesome scenery. They built this town right on the side of the volcanic cliffs. We walked around for a couple of hours, then found a shop that was closing for the season and made some really good deals. Most places won't bargain w/you in Greece so this was an exception. The lady and her husband (a retired sea captain) were very nice and when they heard we were buying for our 5 kids the husband went and collected a few things, one for each kid and gave them to us for free. He even made David and I these little braided bracelets for our anniversary.

We stopped at a cafe then to share a dessert and get a drink. It was very hot on the side where the wind couldn't hit but the sun was beating down and reflecting off of all the white buildings. Then we high tailed it back to our car to drop off our stuff and grab our new phone card. We had to try 4 different phones but we finally found one that worked w/that card. Luke had been waiting 2 days for our call and he answers the phone "Papa Johns Pizza"! We had 30 minutes on that card and by the time we talked to the kids it was all gone. It was good to hear their voices though. I know if we had facebook they'd be talking to us all day long but we are oldies and have only email:)

We headed home at about 3:30 but went thru a small town to do some shopping and then thought we were on the right road and ended up at a beautiful black sand beach w/huge white cliffs. We got out and took some pics by the cliffs and David caught a lizard but unfortunately, some of the people at the beach had accidentally (I'm sure) forgotten their swimsuits so that was kind of gross. It seems to happen pretty often here. Weird....that's all I'm gonna say about that.

We did eventually make it home as the sun was setting. The place that we're staying has a man that lives here full-time and he has a Siberian Husky that loves David so I took a pic of David w/Jack for the kids. He's a nice dog. We went inside and had a snack and are going to bed. It was another great day.