Kidd's Ring

...yummy homemade pretzels... ...a relaxing night with friends and a fun movie... ...the start of a 3-day weekend... ...redeeming a gift card at my favorite store... [Thanks, Sharon!]   ...going to bed and knowing I can sleep in in the morning... 

- a speedy school day because my normal free periods were not free today :)  I experienced what the elementary teachers do almost every day!  Thanks, Montoya, for letting me take your class - I had so much fun!   - walking home after being downtown - I love that we live so close! - hanging out in third grade and listening to the kids present their poetry bios - soo precious! - going to a friend's theater piece - tomorrow is the last day of school for this week!! ONE more thing, this is a semi GST though! lol  I'm thankful that while coming home and getting in the elevator no one was in it!  When I left tonight, the elderly Jewish man (the kisses guy with the LONG beard) got on at the 3rd floor.  He greeted me and said something about daugther and then preceded to do the whole touch my cheeks and kiss his fingers AND then he started coming in for the actual kissing of my cheeks!  After that, he gave me a big hug and said something and wished me a good night !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  AHHH

1) seeing the crescent moon and some stars on my way home 2) short chats with both sisters - one to wish a happy bday and one to answer ?s from a facebook message ... i cannot wait to see them this summer! 3) good enchiladas for dinner :)  4) walking outside after school 5) This one is kinda silly, but I enjoyed it ... I went to Bauhaus which is like a Lowe's.  I was trying to find things for our little balcony and I just enjoyed walking around there and seeing things and thinking that perhaps even I could make something :) lol 

* listening to a really good and moving sermon * 2 cards from America in snail mail :) * a finished project to make home feel more homey * dinner with friends and good laughs - I love laughing! * having two students back in class who were sick almost all of last week  

- I translated a Bible Study today into German and it went really well!  I had fun and enjoyed being able to help!  - Lunch date with a dear friend  - Good church service this morning with friends - Zucchini bread for b-fast  - Encouraging talks with people

- brunch w/ the Hunters on their terrace  - chatting with my sisters  - sleeping in  - a clean house  - talking to my friend and hearing that she is pregnant! :)   

- Today was field day and it was so nice to have a day where we just played with the kids!  - Painting with Cindi :)   - Yummy Zucchini Bread smells floating out of the oven and then nibbling on it as the night went on  - Only having to flip the breaker twice while doing laundry! - A new video of my niece ... oh how I miss 'em!

It's super late and I need to head to bed to be ready for field day and parent teacher conferences ... well, a parent teacher conference!  So here we go, real quick, just to be consistent with my GSTs :)  1.  Fun night with Austrian friends 2.  Good live music 3.  Making one of the last subways home :)  4.  Games with the munchkins 5.  A week late bday card :)  Thanks, M+D!! 

So the first thing I'm going to list is not really a GST, but more like a GLT:  Today in 1st grade, after reading together, they wanted to color the reader.  Anouk had her Bible on her desk, so I picked it up and started thumbing through it.  Her translation was very kid-friendly and interesting to read.  She told me that there is a picture of Jesus on the cross and she wanted me to find it.  So I did and then she goes, "Read it to us!"  So I read how Pilate took Jesus and put Him on trial.  I keep reading and then when there was a break in the text.  I paused and Anouk says, "Keep reading!  Don't stop."  She did this at least one more time!  It was so sweet to hear her asking me to read from the most important text of the Bible.  Then at the end, she said, "That's my favorite story."  I asked the other boy in the class, if he had ever heard this story before coming to VCS and he said no.  This is why I am here at VCS to share the love of Chris

*  Bible Study:  Normally, my Bible Study meets on Wednesday, but this we had an African refugee come and share his story.  So two Bible Studies were put together to hear how this man's circumstances of fleeing his country brought him to his salvation!  We serve such a mighty and awesome God!! *  Getting places:  One of the girls from Bible Study met up with me to help me go to tonight's meeting and then afterwards, I got a ride to the subway line that I live off of!  Always a great help, especially as it gets later and later and people live far out of the city! *  3rd grade:  This afternoon, I had about an hour where I was able to go into third grade and just be there.  They were working on Bio Poetry posters (each child had received a paper where they had fill out things about themselves, i.e. wishes to, dreams of, wants to, who wonders, who likes, etc)....so I sat down at one of the desks and worked on mine.  They all thought this was really funny and teased me that I was th

I just spent the last several minutes on a lady's blog that has a very sick little baby boy...he's only a five months old and when he was in the womb he was diagnosed with heart failure.  Tomorrow this little boy will be having surgery.  Reading about him and seeing pictures of him and his family made me realize how blessed my family and I are with good health.  It made me realize how thankful I am that my beautiful three nieces are healthy and strong!  Here are some recent pictures of them ...  Lilian Sophie  Julienne Anastasia  Levinia Elynn  I cannot wait for the next visit with them!!  It will be so much fun one day to see them all together!  That will be the day :)  Let me list a few more GST and then it's time for me to head to bed.  I'm really thankful for the time I had to catch up with my cousin and to have had a really good talk about life and spiritual matters!  I had a wonderful bday dinner with my roommate tonight - gotta love the Asian foods!  It was a goo

- church started later because the Vienna Marathon was today and so many roads were blocked off- all this was perfect because I had to wait like 7 minutes for the streetcar and I would have been late, but this way I was even a smidge early! :)  - walking home after taking the S-bahn (fast train) ... it is so gorgeous today! - time to read and catch up on emails and watch a movie this afternoon! - random Starbucks run with Whit!!  Good talk and walk :)  -  talking to a friend back in the States that I haven't talked to since the summer!!  

-  Tonight I went to a young people's sport event with dinner and an evangelical movie afterwards.  I had so much fun with the people there.  It's so great to be in a German speaking environment.  The testimony that was shared later on in the evening was really great and encouraging as well!  -  I had a good long time this morning where I could spend time in God's word and in prayer.  -  Coffee this morning with Beth...we had such good talks and got some good laughs in while people watching in downtown Vienna :)  -  I did two loads of laundry today and the entire time the fuze never blew, which is amazing, seeing as one time it blew like 5 times!!!!  I was soo happy and shocked! -  I really enjoyed playing volleyball again!  It's been soo long! 

1.  I had one of my beginner students, Julia, make sentences with spelling words for next week and one of the words was special. Her sentence was: God is special!  I'm pretty sure she didn't really know or think that way before coming to VCS - it's so neat to see her grow in her knowledge of the Lord!! 2.  A new recipe for dinner tonight:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/ Recipes/Creamy-Garden- Spaghetti 3.  Hangout time with my roommate 4.  New TV shows 5.  It's FRIDAY! :) 

*  Birthday breakfast made by Sharon *  Sweet birthday cards from all the 3rd graders! *  Birthday bash with wonderful friends *  Several birthday wishes from people :)  *  Delicious chocolate cake made by Cindi 

1)  One more day with Sharon ... saying goodbye tomorrow will be sad!  We made yummy Thai pizza for dinner!! 2)  Today one of my students prayed before class and thanked God for the sparkling weather!  I thought that was cute.   3)  Riding to school with a fellow teacher that I don't normally meet!  4)  Some teachers at our school haven't had hot water for over a week now - hearing how they have to travel around to get clean or take FREEZING showers has made me realize how thankful I am for warm water!     5)  My taxes are finished and sealed up and ready to go with ladies that return to the States tomorrow!  (I know this seems late seeing as how they are normally due on the 15th TODAY, but overseas residents have an extension!) 

- Seeing my kids again!  - Coming home to Sharon :)  - Eating out with friends at a new restaurant - Good laughs - Sweet comments from one of my students 

* Wonderful night in the theater with friends!  It was so much fun watching Fiddler on the Roof!!  I loved the theater! * One final day to get things done and sleep in before school starts tomorrow * Talking to my Dad, who wasn't doing so well, but is on the mend now * Getting dressed up for the theater  * A sweet message from my cousin! :) 

1. Being able to be a part of a new church that had their first service today!  It was very exciting to celebrate Christ's resurrection by attending a service of a new church! 2. I skyped with my sisters tonight and was able to see Baby Julienne ... it made me super excited for the summer with them! 3. Tonight, the girls downstairs and us up here (my roommate and friend, Sharon) made dinner together and played Dutch Blitz - dinner and games are always fun! 4. I heard the church bells this morning...always a welcome sound. 5. One more day of break and then a short week ... 

Last night, after crashing into my bed, I realized I had forgotten to post for the day.  So sorry about that .... I'm bummed that I broke the daily postings, but what can ya do?  So here they are ... todays to follow later:  - safe travels back to Vienna, everything went super smooth and we had no problems! - enjoying the last few hours of Greece by walking around Thessaloniki - I am so thankful for the whole time we were able to have in Greece.  Linda was such an encouragement and testimony to Sharon and me.  She has so many amazing stories of God's faithfulness and provision!!   - I came home and my roommate had bought all the things we needed to make dinner - thanks, Rhea!  Soo helpful! - Sleeping in my own bed last night was wonderful!! Here is a link where you can see pictures form my trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2212619&id=55712248&l=c0335a5e5d

1. Even though, Sharon and I got on the wrong bus this morning due to the bus driver TELLING us in English that he was going where we wanted go, we eventually got to where we were originally going to visit - we just took the scenic route! 2. A delightful and relaxing last evening with our lovely host, Linda!! (including facebook lessons...hehe) 3. Sleeping in until almost 10 this morning 4. Sun-kissed face! I love the SUN! 5. Having a good laugh with Linda...I love laughing!

- God's beautiful countryside: we went to the bottom of Mount Olympus today and it was so gorgeous there. I love the mountains! - Time to just sit and relax and watch the world go by - Nap after a long day of walking around - Sharon and I found our way "home" from the bus stop, despite not giving our way TO the bus stop our full attention! - Super delicious Greek dinner!

There really is so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful for a vacation and time away from normal life (although, I do really love my life in Vienna). I'm thankful for the time we have here in Greece to learn and discover new things. Today we went to the grave of Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander the Great's father, in Vergina. We were also able to go to Berea and see the steps where Paul suppossedly preached the Greeks there (Acts 17). It's so cool to see these things and think that Paul was here and saw it, too! The darkness here has become very evident since being here though and hearing the stories from our hosts, Linda and Jotis. They have been so very kind and generous to us - showing us around and being our tour guides. I'm so thankful for them and our time together. It has also been wonderful having warm weather - skirt and flip-flops today! This is and will continue to be a HUGE GST for me ... sorry if it comes up so often in my GSTs :) Pictures o

Sharon and I arrived in Greece today and a super warm welcome from our host Linda and her hubby. They have been so sweet and kind to us and they just met us today! It feels like we have known them for a long time already ... some people are just great like that! Here are my GST for the day and then time to head towards bed: 1) Having to go back to my apartment two times before heading to airport, but still having plenty of time to catch the train to get there on time! 2) A traveling buddy!! It's nice to have someone there with you during your travels, not something that happens super often for me. It's a very nice and welcome change! 3) Sunglasses weather ALL day!! AMAZING! 4) Super good greek food - I think our time in Greece will end up with a few extra pounds - stink! 5) Putting my toes in the COLD sea ... here's the picture of right before that:

1. Pussy Willows + Easter Eggs 2. Sunshine + walking 3. Friends + good talks 4. Color + nails 5. Flowers + spring

- a walk around downtown Vienna - a new recipe from Joanna - Thai pizza!! YUMMY!! - an afternoon of catching up with dear friends - discovering easter egg markets! - a wonderful weekend with TESL girls ... oh how I miss the LU days!  

My friend, Sharon, came today from KOREA! :)  I haven't seen her in two years and we have the next two weeks together!  Very exciting!! Joanna came this weekend to hang out with me and surpise Sharon - YAH for college friends! We met up with the Hunters and ate some gelato ice cream....soo good!!!   A beautiful city to show to an old friend PLUS the moon!!  This is my newest plant family member! :)  I love orchids so it gets two pictures!

Last night for my surprise birthday party, I made these super delicious oatmeal everything bars (thanks, Rachel, for the recipe!).  I was asked to share it, so in honor of Stacey, I thought I would post them here!   Oatmeal Everything Bars 2 cups flor 2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cupe brown sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 or 2 pinches of salt (i think i forgot these last night! oops! it still turned out good though.) chocolate chips caramels or caramel sauce - Melt the butter and add oatmeal.   - Mix brown sugar and clour and then add to butter.  - Add chocolate chips, after the butter has cooled down though!   - Melt the caramels.  - Spray a 9x13 pan and then crumble the mixture in the pan.  Cover the pan and pat down. - Drizzle the caramel sauce or melted caramels on top.  - Make 2 layers of this.  - Bake at 180˚C or 350˚F for 20 minutes and then let them sit and harden.     Then enjoy the juicy goodness!!!! :D  

I was asked by someone to post more pictures ... I'll work on that :)  Here's a start: In my third grade class, we talked about pollution and what we can do to stop it.  I had them draw pictures on things they should not do... I thought this one was cute!   I read this book with 1st grade and then had them draw a picture.  I was AMAZED at how well one of my Korean students could draw.  

1.  A surprise birthday party, quite surprising 13 days before my birthday :)  I felt so loved and special tonight!  Thanks everyone, especially Joanna and Stacey and Melissa for putting this together!  You guys are awesome - love you!!! 2.  A surprising amount of energy during the day - I had a spring in my step and silliness all over my face through the school day.  Warmer weather and the sun really do change your outlook on life! 3.  A surprising lack of outer attire for the day.  Coats and scarves were not even necessary for most of the day! 4.  A surprise gift - one of my Korean students, Hansam (almost said like handsome, but not quite),  brought me lead for my Korean mechanical pencil.  I've teased them before about bringing it for me and he did today -  in a little flowery-pink bag! lol ...  it was so cute! 5.  A surprisingly well behaved student!  One of my new students has really been pushing the limits and testing me - however, today this particular student behaved so we

- I woke up this morning to birds singing, what a wonderful sound! -  The kids had their Easter concert today and it was so precious hearing their voices praise God, rejoice in Christ's resurrection and proclaim the Good News!  Check out Psalm 8.   -  In 1st grade, we were coloring a picture and talking about Easter and how Jesus loves us so much that He died for us and Daniel looks up and says, "So, Jesus is our superhero!"  It was soo cool to hear him say that.  I'm not sure that his family is saved, so Lord willing his time at VCS will and already is bringing him closer to God!   - Thursday nights is old movie night, one of the best nights of the week!  Tonight we watched The Torn Curtain (an Alfred Hitchcock) ... such a good movie!  We also make dinner together and tonight we made enchiladas - thanks Mom for a great recipe!!!   - It was amazingly warm today - it really does feel like spring!  I'm so thankful for a day filled with sun and warmth!!  

1.  We've had an accreditation team with his here, since Monday and they have been in and out of classrooms to get a feel for the school.  They never came into my classroom and for that I am VERY thankful!   2.  I went to Bible Study tonight and I enjoyed being able to walk there in daylight and not the dark - thank you, daylight savings!! 3.  Elementary Staff had a potluck lunch today and it was so much fun combining our different foods and just enjoying each other's company!  We even had chocolate chip cookies!! :D  4.  A ride home! 5.  Two more days until spring break ....