Happy 3rd Birthday, B!

It's very hard for us to believe that our B is turning 3-years-old tomorrow (June 2-here on the other side of the world).  In some ways it feels like he's been alive for 10 years (that first year felt like 8...) and in other ways I can't believe he's only 2 years away from starting school.  Whatever the case, we are so thankful that God has blessed our family with such an amazing son.  Parents tend to brag too much about their kids, right?  So, I'll just leave it up to you who have gotten to know our B. :)

Here are a few recent pictures of the boys, including some from his birthday celebration (held a little early).

Tex-Mex recipe for those living outside of the USA :)

Since moving to Indonesia,  I have had to experiment with some of our family's favorite recipes, as the usual ingredients are not always readily available.  It's been fun!  Today I tried "King Ranch Chicken", a Tex-Mex casserole, without any of the normal canned products (cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup and diced tomatoes) or fresh milk.  I thought it turned out well, so I thought I'd share it for all my friends and family members living outside the USA (of course, there's nothing stopping those still in the US from trying it too!)  Sorry I don't have a picture to go along with it!

King Ranch Chicken (without canned goods)

2 cups powdered milk
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (cold/hard)
2 cups water
2 cups fresh tomatoes (skinned and diced)
1 onion diced
1 green pepper diced
1 tsp chili powder (more or less depending on your taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken (cooked and diced/shredded)
12 tortillas
1 cup cheese (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine powdered milk, flour and salt.  Then cut in the butter with a pastry blender (or fork) until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Pour the 2 cups of water in a saucepan over low heat, and stir in powdered milk mixture. Continue stirring until thick sauce forms (3-5 minutes).  Add vegetables, spices and chicken. Stir and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes, until veggies are slightly soft. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Place strips of tortilla along the bottom of the pan.  Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the top and spread evenly.  Repeat layers 2 more times.  Sprinkle with cheese on very top.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

Let me know if you are going to try this recipe!  I'd love to hear if you like it! :)

What am I longing for?

There have been several things recently that have caused me to mull over the above question.  God is at work, bringing some things to my attention and gently prodding me to reflect on them and on how He wants me to think about them.

Last week I was challenged by a post from a friend whose 2-week-old baby just had open heart surgery.  She wrote about hope and what that meant to her.  The quote that stood out to me was this:
"I read something from Nancy Guthrie that has helped put this all in perspective a little better for me.
She points out that when we expect God to spare us from the effects of sin (sickness, tragedies, etc.)
'we're mistakenly expecting in this age what God has reserved for the next.'  Am I expecting God to create a 'heaven on earth' right now?"  I was completely taken off-guard when I read this.  I suddenly realized that I have unknowingly been wanting to believe that nothing tragic would ever happen to our family (i.e. death of a child, serious illness, etc).  Of course, if I am to say it out loud, it sounds ridiculous.  I KNOW in my head that we are not exempt from the effects of sin in this world.  And yet, in my heart, I have been harboring thoughts of "Surely, God would never let that happen to us, right?"  And these thoughts have filled me with fear, because it's almost as if I thought that if I were to think those thoughts, then God would allow those things to happen to me just to show me that we, in fact, are NOT exempt. 

In the past few months, I have witnessed friends' children go through cancer, brain tumors, heart defects, and some of them have died as a result.  With my own two precious boys, these topics are so very difficult to process.  But God has been working on my heart.  Yes, there are horrible, awful things that happen in this world.  Tragedies, illness, death, etc.  No one is exempt from these things, they can (and do) happen to anyone.  This has led me to ponder two things.  First of all, we can have hope.  Not "hope" that these things won't happen to us, but hope that even if/when they DO happen, this life is not the end.  We were created to live in a different, much better place!  Secondly, the effects of sin cause us to long for that other place.  Where is the only place that we can know for certain that tragedies, death and illness will not effect us anymore?  There is not a place like that here on earth, but in heaven!  God created us for heaven and I long to live there eternally.  The other day I was reading Hebrews 11 and came across this in verse 16, "Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them".  Wow, I want to live with this faith, longing for a place I have not yet seen or been, but I believe exists for me!

 As any other TCK (Third Culture Kid) can tell you, we long for the time and place where we will belong.  Completely belong.  And that's not going to happen anywhere here on earth, at least not for me!  The other day in my language school class, this topic was brought up.  We were learning the word "berasal" and my question was what does it literally mean.  I have known since my first day of class that I should use that word to say, "Saya berasal dari Amerika" (I am from America).  Yet, I always feel that something is missing when I stop with that phrase.  Sure, I might have been born in America, look like an American, sound like an American and have an American passport.  But, simply saying, "Saya berasal dari Amerika" is missing a big part of who I am and where I am "from"....11 years of my life was not spent in America, and those 11 years were very formative in who I am today.   Anyway, back to the discussion about the literal meaning of "berasal"....we (my classmates and I) determined that the best literal meaning is "to originate".  Of course, this just helped me realized once again that the discussion of where I am "from" is complicated, in whatever language you are speaking in!  But I am thankful for it--being confused about where I am from and where I belong here on earth, leads me to long more for heaven.  And hearing of the death of a precious 1-year-old baby girl who was diagnosed with a brain tumor, also makes me LONG for heaven, where our Heavenly Father will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more pain or death.  That is the place that we were created for.

Motorcyles part 2 (what can you carry on them?)

Below is by no means an exhaustive list of what we've seen carried on motorcycle. But rather those instances that we've had the presence of mind and opportunity to capture it.

A friend's bicycle needed some welding. It is cheaper here to modify the frame than buy new parts.

My gate needed some welding!

Our friend takes home some firewood for marshmallow roasting

Ok, this is not a motorcycle, but you get the idea :) (no minivans or suburbans as Americans know them out here)
 1 table, 4 chairs, a bookshelf, 2 adults, a 2year old and his car seat in a hatchback.

Motocycles part 1

 Indonesia has many many motorcycles (scooters). Having a car is considered a luxury! On any given Sunday there are approximately 30-40 scooters parked in our church parking lot and one car. Needless to say the four of us also scooter over to church.

 Motorcycle driving is not like you imagine it in the states. The majority of motorcycles in Salatiga are automatic 100cc scooters (max is 200cc, compare that to the 1200cc Harleys you see in the states) 

 Traffic moves at a pace of ~20-25MPH. 35MPH is really cruising. Motorcycles are constantly weaving in and out of traffic. The goal is always to get to the front of the line.

Church Parking Lot 1

Church Parking Lot 2

Missy practicing on field (This is only a pose, Benji always wears a helmet when riding)

Best way to keep Jozie contained

Missy and Benji ready for Rain!