Poor James -

He just figured out today that when having his upper wisdom tooth removed they caused a hole to form in his sinus cavity. This is causing him a great deal of pain (and making him a "wee" bit grumpy). He has to go back to the dentist on Friday to see if they can fix it. May have to suture it but if that doesn't work he will have to go to an oral surgeon and possibly have a skin graft. Man, when it rains it pours. They also prescribed a pretty strong antibiotic for him so that he doesn't get an infection from the incision into the sinus cavity. He couldn't go today (Wed) to fix it or tomorrow (Thurs) because we will be at Ft. Knox applying for our visas to Italy. Hopefully, they will be able to repair it on Friday though. He is still feeling pretty miserable because of this pain in his mouth.

Tomorrow we are expecting to see friends of ours that we met while in Garmisch Germany and then another friend that we met while in Wiesbaden, Germany. Both have a deep faith and are great to be around. Should at least be a fun time of visiting. Especially good when you need to counteract the bureaucracy of the military and the government when it comes to filling out the same paperwork in a hundred different ways.

I am getting excited about this move. I know it will be stressful and full of changes. But it will also be filled with wonderful opportunities. I can't wait to meet new people and share my love for Christ.

Would love to "chat" more but I am tired and need to get to bed. Have a wonderfully blessed rest of the week and I hope to see you here tomorrow. Don't forget to leave comments...ask questions or tell me what you would like to know. I will try to answer.

A***

Due to Overwhelming Demand....

I am posting my soup recipe here... I mentioned my soup on facebook and here and everyone is asking for the recipe. So here it is...

Potato Chowder with Green Chiles



1 large red bell pepper
4 large poblano chile peppers
5 cups chicken broth
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Broil bell pepper and chile peppers on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet 5 inches from heat about 5 minutes on each side or until peppers look blistered.
Place peppers in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal and let stand 10 minutes to loosen skins. Peel peppers; remove and discard seeds. Coarsely chop peppers.
Bring chopped roasted peppers, chicken broth, and next 5 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender.
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; whisk in flour and next 3 ingredients until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in half-and-half.
Stir white sauce and milk into chicken broth mixture; cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Sprinkle each serving evenly with cheese, bacon, and green onions.

I want to reiterate that I sauteed the green onions in the bacon grease before sprinkling over the soup. I love the flavor this imparts! Definite hit and I will be making this again and again and again. I thought that this was my friend Andrea's recipe but she says NO. Sorry I do not know who to give the credit for this. I guess I will claim it is mine now ;-) Shhh - don't tell anyone.

I also want to add that I am so thankful for my life and safety. Right after I left I69 today there was a 25 car accident in which 2 people died, one is in critical condition, 11 were taken to hospitals and the interstate was closed for 7+ hours. This accident happened seconds after I passed the area. My heart was in my throat as I read about it on the news. (I had heard about it through customers coming in to have prescriptions filled but didn't know where the accident was) Here is a link to the accident report with video http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/region_1/Major_accident_closes_69

Sending praises to my father that even with so many vehicles involved there weren't more injuries and fatalities. For those of you who read my blog but don't live in Indiana. Today we were expecting 1-2 inches of snow and just flurries for the day. However around 8 am it started snowing and by 10 am we had over 3 inches. The wind was also blowing so hard that on my drive to work visibility was down to almost nothing and many people were still driving too fast without their lights now. Very dangerous (this would be the main reason that I usually pray all the way to work - besides it being a nice, quiet, convienient time).

Anyway, thanks again for reading and Enjoy the Soup! You will not regret trying it, I promise!!!!

A***

Potato Chowder with Chilis

I recently got a recipe from a friend and I wanted to try it out. So, while I was making enchilada casserole for James I decided to go ahead and make the chowder too. James came home from work when I was starting dinner and helped me. Oh man, it was a good chowder... a little spicy, probably due to the jalapeno. But it was so tasty. The only change I made to the recipe was that instead of topping with raw green onions, I sauteed the onions first in a little bacon grease and then topped the chowder with them. I will definitely be making this again. Oh, and it is an absolutely beautiful chowder. Really gorgeous. If I had taken a photo I would post it because it is so nice looking. It looks professionally done.

We are heading to KY to get our passport and visa paperwork taken care of. Unfortunately, the weather is supposed to be snowy. I hope that it is not too bad.

The boys and I had a great day today. Well, at least I think so anyway. We finished up most of our school work, got the house completely cleaned and even cleaned off a bookcase. I had the boys decide which books to take to Italy and which to leave in storage. They did a good job. Funny thing is though, the bookshelf has 5 shelves and they actually only put one shelf worth of books in storage. The rest they just couldn't live without. I am so thankful that they love reading. And the memories they have of the books they've read are great.

Oh, and today I got to exercise. I tried Jillian Michael's (from Biggest Loser) 30 Day Shred video. It was hard work but I love the way she justifies it. You can't just dial in or phone in she says - you have to be here and DO IT. No breaks, straight through, that is how you will make the changes your body needs and you want. I agree but it was H-A-R-D! Man, was I sweating. I am hoping to do it every day BUT since we are heading to KY tomorrow I may not be able to. I am still considering getting up early and doing it before I get ready for work. It is only 20 minutes so I might be able to do it. I am just not worth much first thing in the morning.

Normally, I get up early and get ready for work, then I make breakfast for James, prepare his lunch and then visit with him before he leaves. Then I have about an hour of quiet time before I need to leave for work. That means I have been awake for a long time and hold a cognizant, aware, conversation by the time I get to work. Perfect for me because otherwise I would probably not be speaking for the first 2 hours or so. Not sure I will be able to put my all into an early morning workout but I will set my alarm and see how I feel in the morning.

Blessings to all who read this. Thanks for sticking with me.

A---

La mia famiglia ed il mio amore

Me with the men in my life...



my soon to be teenager!



my gangsta



the love of my life!

More cards...

My crafting ....

Oh, I think I figured out how to post pictures so here goes.

The hearts are place card settings for our church's upcoming Sweetheart banquet! They turned out pretty cute I think. The rest are just cards I have been making. I have also been trying to "set up" the pictures. I am sure that I will get better as time goes on so forgive me if some are blurry or not great! Thanks for looking too. Enjoy!

Super Bowl Sunday

Not much to say today. James is feeling somewhat better after his oral surgery. But now he thinks he has a sinus infection. The last 6 months have been hard on him. I hope this is the last of his troubles and he can start feeling better.

He is now watching the Super Bowl while I am paying bills and getting ready to play in my craft room again. I have pictures but need to figure out how to post them here. Hopefully, I can figure it out before leaving for the night.

Thank goodness I don't have to work tomorrow either! WooHoo, now that we are getting ready to move to Italy my work schedule has shortened dramatically. I am so grateful for that. The checks were nice but I was so tired at the end of a day. Working for 5-7 hours (on my feet the whole time) and then coming home to wolf down lunch before teaching the boys. I would literally fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Now, I will actually have more time with the boys and I have missed that. I have hated the time they spent alone. They are old enough but I preferred at least being in the house with them.

I might even have the time to get back into a good exercise routine. That would be nice - I haven't been super fit in a long time. But, in Garmisch, I was getting pretty firm and strong. I wasn't embarrassed to be seen in my tight stretchy work out pants with a shirt tucked in. Now, though, I wear them with a big sweatshirt!

Living in Indiana has definitely been an experience. It is probably not IN but we have not enjoyed living here. The last year has just been so depressing for us. We came back to the US hoping to live closer to family, buy or build our own home, plant a large garden...live a more self-sustaining type of lifestyle. That was our dream. Instead we ended up a 26 hour drive from family in a subdivision that we fondly refer to as the Vinyl Village. We are in the middle of the corn fields right off of the interstate and have to drive to get anywhere to do anything. Much different than living in the Alps where we would strap on the roller blades, jump on a bike or just put on our running shoes and go... Go to the local Eis Cafe (Italian ice cream - can't be beat), walk or ride to the base and go to the library, walk the trails, hike around the Eibsee or the Reisersee, hike the trails between villages, ride our bike to the neighboring village, grab a basket and walk to the german grocery store and more. Now we have to get into the car to do anything - even just to get groceries or go to the library. That has been so disheartening and depressing for us.

We met fabulous people at church and love them. They have definitely been THE bright spot in our time here. Unfortunately, it is not enough. Great to have a church to worship and fellowship with but that doesn't fill the hole in our hearts that was left by living in Germany. We have prayed very hard for the last year and are now blessed with James getting a job offer for Vicenza Italy. We have also been in contact, already, with 3 different couples that are there in Vicenza or a short distance away (28 miles) that are missionaries there associated with our church. So unlike the Alps we will not have to home church - we will have others to worship and fellowship with that are like believers. What a wondeful opportunity for our boys too. They are so new in their faith and we think that this a wonderful way for us all to GROW in our faith and learn how to share it with others.

Speaking of being new in their faith...the boys served communion with James today for the first time. I was so proud to see them up there. Even with their confused and nervous faces. They did a great job! The three of them will be serving communion all month. Another way the boys can learn to serve and be a part of the worship service.

Well, I guess I will close for now. I have given you plenty to read. Mostly today I wanted to give you a bit of a background into our last year. Hopefully, it will give you insight into why we are making some of the decisions the way we are.

God bless you all!