Monday, March 29

Outside my window... the sun is peaking through the clouds and a refreshing breeze is blowing.

I am thankful for... spring and beautiful flowers.

I am thinking … of what I need to do first today.

From the kitchen … red beans & rice for dinner tonight and homemade cornbread.

I am wearing... jeans and a green shirt (I love green)

I am amazed that... Micah turns 14 this week!!!!

I am reading… I just finished Eyes of Elisha by Brandilyn Collins

I am hoping... for a wonderful 2 week Easter break and some special family time.

I am praying... for my neighbors (going through some tough times)

Around the house... the washing machine, dryer and dishwasher are all running (as usual)

One of my favorite things... listening to my kids make music.

Pondering these words …"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

A few plans for the rest of the week... 2 special friends are coming for the Easter weekend and we can’t wait to spend time with them and catch up.

Relying On God

Relying on God has to start all over everyday as if nothing has yet been done. 
    -C.S.Lewis

What's Cookin?

A friend passed along this easy receipe for Enchiladas and my guys loved it!

Chicken Enchiladas

1 lb. of chicken, diced
1 small onion, diced

1T vegetable oil
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups of grated cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
15oz chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
4oz green chilis or 1 cup of salsa

Cook chicken and onion in oil until chicken is done. Divide chicken between 8 tortillas and add 1 1/2 T of cheese to each. Roll and place seam-side down in a greased 9x13 pan. Melt butter in a medium pot and stir in the flour. Cook until bubbly (stirring frequently). Wisk in the broth and bring to a boil (stirring frequently). Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and chilis. Pour over tortillas and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

YUM!

CORK PRODUCTION IN PORTUGAL

From Micah

Today I went on a really neat field trip.  We went  to something like a ranch with 20,000 acres.  They had wine production, all sorts of animals (horses, bulls, cows, pigs, ducks, etc) and forest (cork) production.  The cork trees were very interesting.  Below are pictures of harvested trees and also how they are harvested.  From the time a tree is planted it needs to mature 30 years before it's first harvest.  Then, after it is harvested, it takes 9 years of growth before it can be harvested again. 

That means if a man plants a tree when he is 20, he can not harvest it until he is 50 and then he has to wait until he is almost 60 to harvest it again!

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away..."

If you know my boys (all 3) then you know they LOVE Star Wars.  A few weeks ago Micah saw where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was traveling with a Star Wars presentation.  He asked to go for his birthday, so last night we celebrated both boys' birthdays a bit early.  We headed to the to Atlanitc Pavilion to see STAR WARS IN  CONCERT.  They were so excited.  It was amazing.  Hearing John Williams' music with a full -LIVE orchestra was amazing.  They also had lasers and a big screen with clips from the film.  The boys were impressed with all the costumes and characters that were on display as well.  Here are a few of the hightlights.  As Micah said - It was a once-in-a-lifetime night.

Whirlwind Weekend

We have just returned from a whirlwind weekend visit to Porto. It was wonderful as always, but after visiting 6 schools, exploring various neighborhoods and meeting with a few pastors, our heads are swimming with information. Now all we have to do is sort throught it all (not the easy part). Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Cute row house we found while looking for apartments.

Unfortunatly not in our price range though:(

One of the schools we visited. It is one of the oldest in Porto.

No trip is complete without a trip to our favorite restaurant!

Downtown Porto - Casa de Musica (House of Music) and Boa Vista Circle.

This is Porto's city park. Isn't it beautiful?

Blue, Blue Sky

Finally, a beautiful weekend and a free afternoon.  Andy was out of town, so the boys and I headed to the beach for a few glorious hours (along with half the population of Lisbon).

Music, Music, Music

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Originally uploaded by the4milams

If you have been around our family very long, you know that music is an integral part of our life. We presently have a keyboard, 2 guitars, drums, a trombone and a flauta (that's a recorder in the US - they use them in school here). Needless to say, it is rarely quite around here. (I'm sure our neighbors love it.) Micah returned from Germany after Christmas and asked to take guitar lessons. While we looked for a teacher, he began to teach himself. I must say, he has done fairly well. We finally located a teacher and he began lessons the first of March. It si amazing how fast he is picking it up. Every time he gets the guitar out, Ethan runs to get his and sits down to try as well. It is really very cute. Below is a video of a song Micah composed before taking lessons and a picture of Ethan trying to join in.

Basel, Switzerland

I had the privilage to attend a week of training in Basel, Switzerland last week.  Even though it was work, it was with a wonderful group of ladies, so it felt a bit like a retreat. 

Customize your own digital photobook

Expired!

Don't you love it when you are looking at an advertisement to win a prize or something and then when you get down to the bottom you realize that the date has already expired? Well, the other day I bought some more coffee for the house and on the outside of the package was an advertisement that said if you bought two packages of coffee you could win a coffee machine. (Of course, I thought -shouldn't you already have a coffee maker if you're buying coffee...duh!) Well, anyways, when I got home and opened the advertisement I noticed that the date had already EXPIRED to win the prize! Why do they continue to advertise things that have expired?

Here's my point- My desire is that I share the gospel with people before their time has expired. It would be HORRIBLE to hear- it's too late- time has already expired. NOW is the time. Lord, may we walk in Your ways each day and share with others the life-changing message of the gospel.  

Andy

What do you have to offer?

As I think back to the converstaion that I had at the soccer field with my new friend, one thing keeps coming up in my mind. We discussed the fact that some people are in "friendships" because of what the friendship has to offer- money, fame, a better job, etc. Unfortunately, for my friends, I don't have ANY money for you. Sorry!! Hope that you knew that already!
But what I have to offer is the same that Peter offered in the New Testament. I didn't come to offer "silver and gold", but to share the truth about the ONE who can heal. Heal? Yes-first and foremost, He can and wants to heal our hearts. So, in a sense, I'm glad I don't have all those things such as money and fame to offer because they are only temporary. What Jesus has to offer is eternal. So, the next time someone asks- "what do you have to offer?"- I hope that your answer is the same as mine- Jesus.

Andy

A Day from...

Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to give up, throw in the towel, call it quits.... WELL, yesterday was one of those days where I just wanted to say..ENOUGH. It was NOT a good day! Let me back up- it didn't start off good. Language, test results,HARD ground and just everyday stuff seemed to really bother me. Did I say HARD ground? Yeah, I'm not talking about the earth- I'm talking about hearts. It seems an impossible task to try to talk to people who SEEM not interested in the ways of the Father. I asked the Lord- what IS my purpose here? What is it that YOU want to do thru me?What is it that YOU want to teach ME? Do YOU have a purpose for me and my family here in this place? So, having a tough day I took Ethan to the soccer field with the intentions of NOT staying. I had other things that I needed (or wanted) to do.It was then that my whole day changed. Yeah- completely! One of the dads that I have just recently met and I went to have a coffee and there- while having a coffee- we talked a whole hour about the Lord. WOW! I was NOT expecting it- but the Lord was. We talked about the difference between believing in the church and having a relationship with the Lord. I was able to explain to him why the Lord had called us to come to Portugal- to give hope to a people by telling them the truth about the Lord and how He longs to have a relationship with His people. Well- as you can see, what seemed to be one of my worst days here,turned out to be one of the greatest. I'm glad I didn't give up...throw in the towel....call it quits....because He never gave up on me. "This is the day that the Lord has made.."
ANDY