Christmas Tree

Living in Eastern Europe and trying to replicate American Holidays is always an adventure. For Thanksgiving I was sent on two manly adventures.   I went foraging for sweet potatoes (this means I went to all the grocery stores/markets we could think of) and was unsuccessful, we settled for pumpkin as a substitute and in true Jen fashion it was outstanding (a ton of butter, brown sugar and pecans - can't go wrong).  I also went on a turkey hunt - I went to two grocery stores and bought nearly 16 lbs of turkey breast. no luck finding a whole turkey.  In the spirit of my new found manlyness (must be from the hike you can read about here) I decided to take the family to cut down a new Christmas tree.

We had been using this hand me down tree we were given at our arrival here. Not very impressive.

So we loaded into the car to head to the store (you really did not think I was gonna spend money on and cut down a real tree did you), but little did we know the adventure that would wait.
We took Super Santa and his elves!

Out and about around town Super Santa keeps a low profile, acting like a seemingly ordinary BOY!

The forest provided many choices of trees, tall ones, skinny ones, white ones, black ones, short ones and fat ones.  We decided on the Arctic fur - green of course.

Little did we know that our tree search would turn into such an adventure, on our way from the tree farm (store) we ran into wild animals.... Bears helping Santa get ready for Christmas.

Momma was happy with her new tree, one taller then us.  And Super Santa was worn out after all the adventure in the day

To Be Thankful

Psalm 106:1 Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
I love that verse, I think it gives specific instructions to all of us - Praise the LORD and Give thanks.  But it also tells us why, because God is good and he has given us enduring love (through his Son Jesus).  With that in mind and as we wrap up November here are just some of the things I give thanks and praise for.

The Cross - That Jesus would come and die for me (for all of us) to redeem us of our sin.  It is the most spectacular sign of a love that endures forever.

This Lady - any one who would put up with me daily, much less follow me around the world is a gift from God.  She is an amazing mother, she schools all our kids, and generally takes amazing care of all of us.  We (and me especially) are extremely blessed to have her in our lives.

 These Guys - These three are the funnest people I know.  Some days they do drive me crazy but they are pure joy.  K is a blessing, a helper. Watching her figure out who she is and seeing God use her is a daily joy.  Miki is funny and loves school.  She loves being a kid.  Wilson is... well he is just a boy he likes to run and jump and climb.  But he is sweet, he loves to give hugs and kisses.  All three of them keep us busy but they bring a fullness and richness to our lives that is hard to put into words.

This Guy- I am extremely thankful for this guy - Sam.  He is an encouragement daily and a constant reminder how much God loves us.  He is a tireless evangelist, and amazing teacher of the word and passionate about bringing truth to this part of the world.  Jen and I get the pleasure of hearing him teach and lead every Saturday night in our home.  He is not only our ministry partner but also a great friend.





There is not enough space to list all I am thankful for.  Family back home in the states, friends all around the world, and all of you who follow our adventures and pray for us daily.  Take a minute to day to thank God for all he has blessed you with but also to praise him for who he is. 

A hiking Kyle will go...

Jen and I overlooking the Gorge

Jen and I had the great pleasure this past week of attending a leadership meeting in Greece.  We stayed in the mountains of northern Greece in a quaint little village.  Most of our time was spent training, meeting and learning but I did get one serious adventure in on this trip.  Sunday all the guys went on a "hike".  If you know me hiking (or anything outdoors) is not on my radar but I thought this would be a great opportunity to spend time with some friends and maybe relax, so a "hiking" I went (there was some serious peer pressure applied as my other choice was to shop with the women).  When I hear the word hike, I think of a long walk in the woods, maybe a river to cross.  Apparently when my colleagues say hike they are really saying "we are going to climb down a mountain walk four hours in difficult terrain at the bottom of a gorge and then climb back up about 3000 feet." - unfortunately I figured this out after we had hiked for 45 minutes and we came to a sign that said START.  When half the guys came out with hiking sticks, boots, camel packs etc, I should have clued in that this may be a little difficult.  By the end of our 12 mile hike I was exhausted, especially after climbing out of the gorge but it had been a fantastic experience and a great time with a great group of guys.  
When I came out of the gorge Jen was waiting for me and told me there is a sign at the top of the gorge stating that the "Vikos Gorge" is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds deepest gorge (after some research I found out this is true and a gorge is different from a canyon.  A canyon is wider and a gorge is more narrow.  So as an example the Grand Canyon is deeper the Vikos but they are different).  So not only did I survive the hike, I got to hike the deepest gorge in the world.  That is an adventure worth noting (also worth noting, hiking the worlds deepest gorge only needs to be done once). 

Papigo, the village we stayed in

The Proof

Nearly Dead at the end of the Hike

Clouds settling on the mountains

Europe's cleanest River according to a waiter in a restaurant we ate at.

Kyle and Jen on a getaway

Because of the generosity of some great friends back home, Jen and I were able to take a weekend getaway to Romania a few weeks ago.  Jen found a great deal on a hotel in what we thought was going to be quaint little village just across the border in Romania in a town called Timisoara.  We had a grand plan to sit in the center and sip coffee and see some sights.  The night before we left our language tutor mentioned what a great mall this city had. That lead to a Google search of the mall and surrounding restaurants by Jennifer.  While she was looking for places to shop and eat (she found a sushi restaurant we ate at three times).  I was looking for Starbucks and yes the had one.  STARBUCKS 2 and half hours away..... these are the things I dream about.  So the plan changed rather quickly.  We took in the sights, took some pictures and headed to the mall.  We Christmas shopped and went to Starbucks and ate sushi, then we went to the hotel.  We got up the next day and went to the mall shopped, ate sushi and went to Starbucks.  Yeahp perfect getaway. 
We did more then that.  Most importantly we talked and talked and talked, and no one interrupted us.  It was amazing.  Hopefully we can do this yearly and keep reconnecting.

Thanks European union for cherry coke and 7up

Art critic

on top of the mall

Jen with a Giant coffee

SUSHI

Is this a Blood Bank?

In the beautiful town center

Can't go wrong with a weekend away with her!