Our Date Night...almost

Patrick and I love time to be together not neccesarily as "Mommy and Daddy" but, as Patrick and Kami...Husband and Wife. Sometimes that always doesn't happen as easily and as often as we like. Over our 17 years of marriage we've learned to be creative in our time "alone" and to just enjoy every moment in this wonderful famiy that God has given to us!

We had a great day night! It seems like our dates usually revolve around food, but that's okay...we love our food! We had steaks (with A1 yay!) Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Green Beans. It was a feast! I love setting the table and setting a romantic mood. We moved the table at an angle where we could see the TV and watched a Hallmark movie while eating our delicious food. It was so sweet!

Notice our super neat Red Robin glasses? Patrick bought me those for Christmas to be used only for us two on our dates. Love this idea!

I'm not sure if I should mention this, but we fed the kiddos early before our date and put the younger two to bed. The older three were in the living room watching the movie with us, but we couldn't see them and they couldn't see us...so it was like we were alone! :o)

A little fun to breakfast

It was going to be one of those "Let's have a great school day by getting a lot done!" kind of days. So, what better way than to start with chocolate chip pancakes! To make them a little more special, I decided to make the letter of each of the kiddos out of chocolate chips.

Of course, One of my chocolate-lovin'-kiddos was caught stealing the chips!!

At least she shared! I just hoped I had enough to finish the rest of the letters!

Can you see the J,E,B,S &C? I felt bad for Josh's pancake getting a little well done....I had to have proof of the chocolate stealing thieves!

Eggs-A-Little-Late Family Fun Night

Last Easter we all came down with the fun stomach bug. Needless to say, we didn't get a chance to color eggs, and that is one of our favorite traditions! So, we figured it's definitely not too late to do it in September, right? Perfect family fun night game! Patrick mixed all the colors together (food coloring) and labeled the cups, it was so organized!

This was Silas's first time to color eggs and HE LOVED IT! He kept saying to me, "Mom! This is so fun!" I love his sense of excitement!

My most excited creator, though, is always Patrick. He's very serious about coloring the eggs! He always makes a watermelon, and now the watermelon egg is spreading through the whole family!

Well, it wasn't the right time, but we loved it! I have such talented Egg Colorers in my family!

There's really some milk in the store??

It's not very often we have real milk in the store here during the summer and early fall. By real milk, I mean the kind I grew up with....you buy it in the refrigerator section of the store! I never have gotten used to the boxed or bottled stuff, although I now can have cereal with just a tad of milk and not think it's horrible.

So, when Patrick came home with a half gallon of McArthur's Dairy Milk....the real stuff....I was quite excited! Oh the possibilities!!! So, what would you do if you finally could have a nice cold glass of milk?
Make homemade chocolate chip cookies of course!
And they were wonderful!

My New Helper

Silas has become my little helper lately. He loves to help anyone do anything, and the pure look of joy he gives me when I praise him is priceless! I asked him if he wanted to help me ice the glasses for lunch. When he heard the word "help" he came running! (And yes, we washed our hands first. Mom always said it was the 1st rule of a good cook! Anyone know the 2nd?)

He so sweetly filled the cups with ice, trying to make them even. Just like he sees his sisters doing.


But, then his 2 year old curiousity and love for ice kicked in. Hhhhm, Who's cup did that piece go into?

Bible Study Lunch

The Lord has let me be able to have a special ministry here in St. Barths. You know how I love to cook, right? Well, every Sunday after our Bible Study we all have lunch together. The above photo is a day we had soup and sandwhiches. I made Avocado soup and I am in love! (I've been craving Avocado just a little)

During our "Missions Awareness" month I made an Indian dish to go along with the theme of India.

Spaghetti! And I'm lovin' those huge meatballs!

I love having people around my table. Thank you, Lord, for letting me serve!

A quilt for Callie Grace from her Grammy

Denise (Patrick's Mom) made this gorgeous quilt for Miss Callie Grace. I know it took so much time and effort. It is something she will treasure for many years to come! She hand embroidered all the flowers and embellishments.

Of course, my Callie loves it! Thank you Grammy!

My Girls and their Cakes

My girls have continued to make their cakes here on St. Barths. They've really turned it into their ministry. So far, they've baked 3 cakes and given them away to people with birthdays. I'm so proud of them! They used their car pan to give this cake to a 10 year old boy.

This lady bug cake was made for a 6 year old girl. So cute!

And they made this cake for a sweet 50 something lady here in St. Barths. Each report back was that the cakes were gorgeous and delicious! Yay for my girls!

How to eat a "Kenep"

We have enjoyed *mostly* eating and sampling the exotic fruits of the Caribbean. There are several that Patrick has memories of eating while growing up in the islands. One of them that he couldn't wait for us to try is the Kenep.

Although there are several spellings and names of this fruit throughout the caribbean, we have come to call it a Kenep. Brenna is in love with them! The juicy inside stains very badly, and even though she tries to be careful, she's stained a few of her shirts. HHhhhmmm, I guess that's life when you're in love with a fruit like a Kenep!

They are a little tricky to eat, so Brenna gave me a good demonstration!

1. Sink your teeth into the hard outer shell to make a crack.

2. Squeeze the peel so that the fruit and seed pop right into your mouth.

3. While the fruit is still in your mouth, try to get off every bit of fruit from the big old seed. It does take some work! When you're done....Don't eat the seed!

Voila! You've eaten a Kenep....now go eat 30 more until you're satisfied!

My Endless Saga

It feels like the 2 main things I've posted on since I've been in St. Barths are:

phone line

and

paperwork

Well, here I go again!

Phone Line: We have an actual date, with an hour attatched to it, that we're supposed to have a phone line and internet. The big date? November 3rd. That's right...6 months to the date that we were supposed to have it hooked up!

Paperwork: Oh, the dreaded word! Patrick and I are very thankful the Lord is in control of this situation. We feel somewhat helpless concerning the never-ending-paperwork-drama in our lives. But, that's okay, the Lord knows what He is doing. Our 6 month date is quickly approaching of being on the field. Patrick and Silas are officially French Citizens, with hopefully Josh being finished within the month. HHhhmm, it looks like just us girls have the problem! October 22nd I will fly back to Florida (with Elisabeth, Silas, and Callie) and order a new American passport with extra pages, and then make an appointment in Miami to try and get a Long term Visa for me. None of our children are eligible for one since their father is french. So, I'm not exactly sure how long I will be gone from Patrick, Josh, and Brenna. I'm looking forward to seeing some of my family, but I'm not wanting to be gone from my 3 for too long. Pray for me! Pray for my Visa appointment at the Consolate to go very well and smoothly. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous, but thank God, He's in control!

Now, for some super exciting news! My parents are coming for a visit!! Yay! We are completely thrilled, to put it mildly! They will spend a week with us, then fly back with me to Florida. It's going to be so much fun to be with them and they have some Grandkids that are wanting to spend some time with them!

So, this is the last posting for me for a week and a half while I get spoiled by my Mom and Dad!

My plan is to really get caught up on my blog while I'm in Florida. I'll be in Internet-Land! I'm still behind by about 3 months, and so many exciting things have happened that I want on my online journal.

So, until then...Keep trusting the Lord! He'll never fail you!

My Bus Route

In almost every place we have lived, God has let me work on a bus route. I love it! We had a route we worked together in Carthage, Missouri where we had a high day of 99. Patrick was the Bus director when we were on staff in Hattiesburg, and I was one of the captains. Then, we started a bus route when we lived in Lehigh. So, the bus ministry has a special place in our hearts. We know it works! Even though I don't have an actual bus (yet! :o) God is letting me use our car/van/suv (I still don't know what to call our vehicle!) to pick up people for church. I usually have 4 that I pick up every Sunday to come to our Bible Study. Silas is my helper and always rides with me. I love my time on Sundays when I pick up the dear people we have coming. We laugh and talk, and I get great practice on my french! Thank you Lord for opening doors for me! Now, I've maxed out the space in our vehicle. I'm praying for a van! (or a St. Barths style school bus!)

"Auction" Family Fun Night

We've had a great time getting back into our family fun nights. Patrick came up with the idea to have an Auction night. He made up numbers for all of us and everyone could auction off 3 things that they no longer wanted. There were many things up for grabs like a laser pointer, fun colors of lipgloss samples, our Gimenez Family license plate, and this calender Brenna was selling. I have big plans for it, so look for a post in the future!

We had so many laughs and giggles! Although I realized during this that sharing might not be our family's strong point. We make each other buy the stuff they want! :o) I think in the end we all just exchanged money and stuff!

Happy Birthday to my sister Keela

Today is my sister, Keela's, birthday. After my Grandma passed in April, my sisters and I were having one of those emotional moments thinking about our Grandma. Keela mentioned that she will miss getting a homemade card from Grandma for her birthday. (My Grandma was an amazing crafter and always sent us a homemade card that was BEAUTIFUL!) My sister Taylin decided then that we should surprise my sister Keela with homemade cards on her birthday. So, even though I made a card, it won't exactly make it for her birthday, so I thought I would post it, and hand deliver it when I head to Florida.

I decided to use materials that were given to me that used to belong to my Grandma. It was fun looking at all the quilling stash Grandma had. There were so many patterns to choose from. Patrick and I both got a little teary eyed when we saw some of Grandma's creations in the box, too. I sure miss my Grandma! I finally decided to do a Holly Hobby girl for my sister. She used to love Holly Hobby when she was younger.

Patrick decided to make a card for Keela too. Although his isn't quite as sweet. :o)

It says:

Happy Birthday Keela

To encourage you on your birthday, I decided to give you some examples of 40 from the Bible.

So here goes...
~The Children of Israel were punished to wander int he desert for 40 years!

~God destroyed the earth with a constant rain of 40 days and 40 nights!

~After 40 days of fasting, Satan tempted Christ!

OK, maybe forty isn't so wonderful...

But how should I know, It will be several years before I get there!!!

Have a Happy Birthday Keela! I sure do love you, my Sis!