This week I am thankful for:

1. Soft toliet paper.  After using the traditional Ukrainian stuff (similar to crepe paper) for a little over a day while being pregnant with a very active bladder, so I'm very thankful to have the soft stuff back in my life!  :)

2. A wonderful evening with our friends Yakov and Alyona.  They had us over to eat here on Monday night and we had a great time together!

3. Feeling better!  That's right, my all day sickness is calming down and I'm able to function again... yay!!!

4. Banana bread and bran muffins - since I felt bad I wasn't able to make many healthy snacks and I finally did this last weekend. They've been the perfect substitute for the snacks I was craving, but couldn't find here.

5. David's class. He's teaching this week at UBI on New Testament Leadership and I'm really enjoying sitting in on it.

6. Emails and notes we've received this last week from friends and family in response to our newsletter and our news of the baby.  It's always so encouraging to hear from those we love, makes the distance not quite so large.

7. God's Word.  I know, we're all thankful for it, aren't we?  But, there have been some tough times for me this last month and I felt like every time I was picking up God's Word He was speaking directly to me.  There are so many things I continually need to strive toward and I'm so thankful for the directions God has given us through His Word! 

8. The Sun.  It's winter here (still) and the sun doesn't shine every day.  However when it does shine, it really does brighten the day and my mood!  In talking to Lucy the other week, she told me when the sun came out she grabbed her boys and they played on the balcony so they could get some good sun exposure.  Isn't it great that God made such a pick-me-up so big for us?  (It's shining this morning here in Donetsk, by the way!)

9. Staying safe.  It's the time of year where we're hovering around freezing which means it melts and then re-freezes a lot, creating more ice on the ground and falling snow and icicles.  It's quite dangerous to walk around!  We parked our car near our apartment building and the next day we had three (THREE) dents in it from falling ice and yes... the ice brought down a brick as well.  When the buildings here are 5 stories high, the sidewalk really doesn't have a safe place to walk, plus you're dodging puddles and ice patches.  I'm really thankful we haven't been hurt physically!

10. My husband.  He has gone above and beyond these last few months as I've been sick.  I barely cooked, never did dishes, and hardly house cleaned.  He picked up the slack and really took care of me.  I'm glad I'm feeling better now so I can start returning some of those favors, but really... he's such a blessing to me!!

Ok, there is my ten for this last week or so.  What are you thankful for?

 Ingredients for Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy.  Mix together flour, sugar, soda, and salt.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream and vanilla.   Mix well.  Pour 1/2 batter into greased/floured baking dish (you can use either a bread pan or a 11x8), top with 1/2 topping mixture.  Add remaining batter and then top that with the remaining topping mixture.  Bake at 325*F for 40-45 min. 

1. The Trick-or-Treaters who showed up at our door tonight!  Even though only two of the four boys had their costumes on, it was still fun and I'm glad our house can be their stop to get goodies!

2. Our Halloween party last night at the McDougles.  It was a lot of fun for everyone who was there!  I especially loved carving pumpkins with our friends here in Ukraine... for most of them it was their first time!

3. The colors of fall.  I am absolutely loving all the falling leaves and pretty colors everywhere! 

4. Pumpkins. We can only get pumpkin when it's in season, so we've been waiting for about a year now and it's here!  So, all the pumpkin dishes are being prepared and we're freezing some to have for Thanksgiving and Christmas time.  I also like that the pumpkins here are different than in the states.  I don't prefer one or the other, but it's fun to see the "gourd-like" and sometimes green pumpkins here, it gives them character!

5. Our visit with David's mum these last two weeks.  It's been heaps of fun having her here and being able to show her Ukraine.

6. Being able to see my first Russian ballet last week!  What a neat experience and fun night we had. 

7. Friends here and back home (home includes many places).  I'm very blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life!!

8. The Bible study we started this week.  Yes, it's scarey for me too, and quite intiimidating because it's all in Russian, but I'm so excited to see how God is working in this and it's just the beginning of some wonderful things that are yet to come in our time here!!

9. The blessing of having a car.  There have been many times I've been thankful I didn't have to walk this week, especially when we bought all the pumpkins for the Halloween party!!

10. Good landlords who have warmed up to us.  It's funny to look back and remember that they almost didn't let us rent this apartment because we are missionaries.  We only see them once/month, but our relationship with them has grown in this last year and they are talking so much more to us and acting like they enjoy visiting (besides just picking up rent!)!

What are you thankful for this week?

Today I realized I had once again missed Tuesday, but this time I determined that I'd still get it done.  I suppose I had my mind made up that if I missed Tuesday, I missed the whole week.  That's just silly.  So... my list is no longer going to be called Ten Things Tuesday, but rather My Ten Things This Week.  Hope you enjoy.  If you have time, post a comment with something you're thankful with as well! 

This week I'm thankful for:
1. Our time last week with the students and staff at the Ukrainian Bible Institute (UBI).  We had such a wonderful time getting to know them better!
2. The opportunities that David and Dougle had to teach at UBI this last week and this week.  I know they are a great blessing to the students and I know they are benefiting from the time there as well.
3. The time Lucy and I are having together this week with Canaan and Max. It's hard being away from our hubbys, but I'm so thankful we can keep each other company!
4. The fact that my Grandma Janie is doing better.  She's still in the hospital and they are still trying to find out more information, but she's more comfortable, which I'm so thankful for. 
5. The Hindmans getting to vacation in Italy this week.  I know this is a break they need and will enjoy.  Earlier we didn't think they'd be able to get their visa invitations before they left, so that would have meant they would have had to leave the country within 48 hours of coming home from their trip.  But, things worked out and all seems to be fine now... we're thankful for that answered prayer!
6. Snacks and treats we can make and find here.  I made chocolate peanut butter and cream cheese brownies this week for some company we had over and they are good!  Sometimes the little things have to be mentioned.  :)
7.  My nephew Max's smile.  It's all gum and huge... everytime you look at him and smile. He gives freely and for that I'm very grateful!!
8. Chats with my sister.  Last night we stayed up (too late) talking about life here in Ukraine.  It's so nice to have a good friend here who understands, plus one who is family. 
9. Family and friends who are praying with us-- on a regular basis.  I barely put up a request on facebook before I get several responses from friends and family praying with us.  Not to mention our prayer team who prays with us every week.
10.  The prayers of those at Sunset.  They are spending 40 days in prayer leading up to their mission's Sunday and this week they are focusing their prayers on Ukraine and our team here.  We have such wonderful partners working with us as we all reach out to the people in Ukraine. 

This week David and I are in Donetsk, Ukraine with my sister and her family.  David is teaching Fundamental Theology at the Ukrainian Bible Institute here this week and next.  During our time here, we wanted to get to know the students and staff, and what better way to win their affection than to cook for them?  Lucy and I decided to cook Tex-Mex for them.  Finding ingredients for Tex-Mex can be hard in Ukraine.  In fact, most of the time we have to make everything from scratch—the tortillas, the seasoning, the salsa, etc.  For most of you, it’s easy enough to run to Rosas or the grocery store and pick up semi-fresh tortillas.  I miss those days.  :) But, in case you just want the extra challenge of making it from scratch, here’s how to do it. This recipe is compliments of Linda Merritt  in Hart, Texas.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

My thoughts about this recipe:
tasty, kid and culture friendly, but time consuming.

Ingredients:

4 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter (softened is easiest)
1 ¼ cups water

Directions:

Mix together the dry ingredients, then cut in butter with a fork or wire whisk.  The mixture will be lumpy with pea-size pieces of the butter.  Add the water and knead it just a bit.  Next, separate the dough into balls.  (I usually make about 16 balls for burrito size tortillas, but you can make them smaller if you want.)  Let the balls sit for about 15 minutes.  Using a rolling pin, roll the balls out until they are thin on a lightly-floured surface.  (If you’re using a tortilla press, it’s best to press the tortilla in the press for a while… the longer you hold it pressed, the thinner they become.)    

Next cook the tortilla in a med-hot frying pan.  Do not add oil to the pan, just let the heat cook it.  When the tortilla becomes puffy, flip it to cook the other side (see picture).  Sometimes the flour collects in the pan and burns, leaving black flour on your tortillas.  If that happens, just use a paper towel to get rid of the burnt flour in the pan.  I try to pat the tortillas before putting them in the pan to minimize the amount of flour on them.

Since we make tortillas a lot here, Lucy and Dougle bought us all tortilla presses and these nifty tortilla warmers from the States.  We’re still working the kinks out of the tortilla presses, but the tortilla pouches are amazing.  Here is a website that sells them, but they were able to buy them in a local store as well: http://www.latortillaloca.com/tortilla_warmers.htm  They keep the tortillas warm for a really long time and you can microwave the tortillas in the pouch to reheat.  I highly recommend the tortilla pouch!