Our Amazing Adventure in Romania

Those thieving missionaries!

2007-09-16T19:00:00.000+02:00

Help! These stepping forward missionaries just showed up today and took all of our stuff! Look at 'em. There's Cami, Noemi and Noemi's 2 month old daughter Isabella. Don't they look like crooks?Our stuff was last seen inside (and on top of) a beat-up blue Dacia pickup.
Ok, you're not going to believe this...but I'm just kidding. The missionaries really didn't steal our extra stuff. We've been in Romania for almost 2 years and we acquired a lot of excess stuff that we already had at home. There was no point in shipping it back and besides, certain items like our tiny washing machine wouldn't be much use in the states. So we donated it all to the cause.

And now the apartment looks pretty much like it did when I first got here in January 2006. The only difference is nearly two years of time has gone by. Take a look at this before and after photo - focus on the rubber plant in the center.

Well, that's it for me. Dana has committed to a wrap-up post after we get settled in the states next week.

La Reverdere,

Steve

Handicap Accessible

2007-09-15T12:26:00.000+02:00

Big changes at the apartment bloc during this last full week for the remainder of the Jutton family (me) in Bucharest. I came home from work on Thursday to find all sorts of excitement outside the main entrance. Several men were in the process of pouring a handicap ramp. Both of our building administration ladies and several residents where on hand for the event.

I stayed a bit for some chit chat and watched the action. The ladies asked about my girls and said several times that they were very sorry to see us go.

Here's a picture of the finished product. It is actually the law in Bucharest that all apartment entrances must have these, but many still don't.

Ours came out pretty good. Roughly, I'd say it drops about 4.5 ft over it's 10 foot length. This may seem steep to us Americans but I've seen them much shorter and steeper in Bucharest. They even have a few pieces of re-bar stuck in there to help slow down and out-of-control wheel chair. I haven't seen any others with that added "safety" feature - ours is fancy!

Steve

Visiting the Orphanage

2007-09-08T11:55:00.000+02:00

First, a quick travel update:

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know that both of my "girls" made it home. According to Dana ,the flights were on time, and with the exception of the luggage transfer through customs at Dulles (apparently a good workout for the girls due to the lack of carts), it was a good travel day.

Steve's Orphanage Visit

So, the missionaries at Stepping Forward felt bad for me being alone after reading one of my desperate emails, ha ha ha. Cami Mather and Scott DeWeerd decided it was about time I visited the orphanage where the kids they take to the summer camp actually live. They picked me up near the Titan Metro at 10:00 this morning and we headed out to towards the edge of Bucharest. This area is definitely what you would call the "low rent" district. Many of the streets here are not paved, except for some recycled asphalt they dump out as gravel in the worst places. Many of the dwellings including large apartment blocs do not have basic services like indoor plumbing.

As soon as we pulled in to the facility, the kids came running out and were ALL OVER Scott and Cami. You can definitely tell immediately how starved they are for attention. I brought my camera and as soon as I took the first picture, they were all over me too. Every one of them wanted a picture. Mostly they wanted pictures of themselves alone, but it did get ugly when one kid would want a picture with this friend and NOT that friend. I'm glad I brought an extra set of batteries, because this went on throughout the entire visit.

After the lengthy greeting process outside, we went in to do a craft project with the kids. Cami had brought some stuff to make sock puppets. When I wasn't taking pictures, I was put in charge of holding the glue. Cami and Scott make the decision (a really good one) not to give out the glue bottles. I also had a chance help a small child (who was mute - picture on the right) make his puppet. Steve Mather (Cami's husband) showed up during the project. This was great, since we were overwhelmed and needed an extra hand (or 10). The only problem was that Steve shares my first name and as soon as he showed up the constant call of "Steve, Steve, Steve!" was out-of-control. The craft project, for some kids, went pretty well but it was total chaos in the room. A few of the smaller kids had their socks stolen since these cheap socks were better than what many of them had in their limited wardrobes.In this orphanage, there are about 80 kids and there are about 30 other similar places in Bucharest holding a few thousand kids total. According to Steve Mather, the bulk of Romania's (50,000+ range - estimates vary) orphan population is outside of Bucharest where the cost of keeping them is less. Most of the children here at his location are in the 10-14 age range with a few younger and a few older. One of the saddest things to me is that some of these kids actually have parents. Their parents just don't want them and turn them over to the state-run orphanage system. Some kids will run away from the orphanage only to return a few days later when they realize they weren't wanted back at home. Many of the kids are also "Roma" people (gypsy) and their chances of adoption here in Romania are slim. International adoptions have been banned in Romania since about 2001 due to concerns about human trafficking (some of those concerns were justified), but this has kept many more children from finding adoptive parents.After the crafts were done, the goodbyes took as long as the greetings. Even though the missionaries will be back next week, you would think they were leaving for good. Kids were literally hanging on the car as we pulled away.

If you want to find out more about this important ministry (to come here and help, or donate, or pray), you can go here to the Stepping Forward website. Cami & Steve and Scott & Noemi are really doing some great stuff here and can always use more help. As I was reflecting about the Stepping Forward ministry, this quote came to mind.....

Matthew 25 verses 35-40
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

That's all for now. I may go back to the orphanage next week. I just might post again, but I won't be bringing the camera!

Steve

Things We Learned

2007-09-06T06:07:00.000+03:00

All of life is a learning experience. The past two years has put us in situations and cultures that were outside our present realm of experience. So much to take in and apply in our lives. I imagine that more will come to us as time passes.

These are the things we learned:

Stephen:
1 - To appreciate the high standard of living we Americans enjoy.
2 - We can be happy, even in a small apartment in a crowded city.
3 - To appreciate the quality of our US government despite its flaws.

Dana:
1 - I learned that we don't need all the "stuff" that we have in the states. It's nice, but I can be completely happy without it. What I missed most was Stephen when we were on opposite sides of the ocean at times.
2 - That missionaries are real, ordinary people. I grew up in mission friends, GAs, and Acteens. All missons awareness groups within the Baptist church. In my mind, missionaries were set up on a pedestal. Now that I have lived in a tent next to them, cooked over an open fire with them and for them, and listened to them debate the best way to solve a problem, I realize that they are just believers following God's will for their lives. It was great to really learn from them over these past months.
3 - I learned that I can parent without "the Granny" living next door. This isn't anything against her, she encourages my parenting and has never stepped over into my authority with Maria. When we decided to take this assignment both my Dad and Stephen questioned how I would be without my Mama living next door. And while Maria and I have both missed her terribly - we survived - and thrived. The nagging little doubt in the back of my head is silenced and now I can just enjoy the benefit of having a close relationship with my parents. **Jill on the other hand is spoiled rotten and will probably never be the same again!**

Maria:
1 - You can do many of the same things in another country.
2 - Blogs are cool! (Thank you sweet girl)
3 - Small apartments are nice.

Things We'll Miss

2007-09-05T06:15:00.000+03:00

Even while we are counting the days (we're down in 2!) and looking forward to returning to the states, there are things we'll miss about our time in Romania.

Stephen:
1 - Fornetti!
2 - Shoarma's
3 - Fresh Bread.
(yes, it's all about the food baby!)

Dana:
1 - The forced time spent at home with just the three of us. We have no real commitments here. Even though I love our life in the states we have to guard our time there. We tend to be over-committed and over-scheduled. September is already filling up with great activities and people. This is fun but I want to remember to spend some time with just Stephen and Maria. I will be saying "no" more!
2 - Being able to walk to the grocery store and back in less than 20 minutes. It's nice to run out and get a forgotten item. In the states if I'm missing something and my Mama doesn't have it (they live next door) then I'm out of luck!
3 - Being able to easily travel to other countries. It's actually cheaper to go to another country from here than another state in America!

Maria:
1 - Friends
2 - Fresh Produce
3 - Going to cool competitions

Three Really Cool Things!

2007-09-04T05:06:00.000+03:00

We saw so many different things during these two years. Here are the top three "cool" things we were able to see.

Stephen:
1 - Pyramids (Egypt)
2 - Sagrada Familia (Barcelona)
3 - Eiffel Tower at night. (Paris)

Dana:
1 - The Pyramids
2 - The Anne Frank House
3 - The Roman Forum and Colosseum

Maria:
1 - The Pyramids
2 - The Eiffel Tower
3 - The People's Palace and a fun one here.

Although, today we are looking forward to seeing some of your smiling faces in only a few days!

Three Ways God has Blessed and Provided

2007-09-03T16:55:00.003+03:00

God blesses and provides for us everyday, no matter where we are living. Here are some of the ways that stand out in our minds:

Stephen:
1 - So many friends to assist my transition here, especially when I realized my first temporary apartment was in the SAME BUILDING as a friend we had just met before we left Greenville.
2 - Providing opportunities to help out and get to know some missionaries here, especially being able to meet the Mather family.
3 - Safety on the roads. Accidents were quite common on the team and traffic is just crazy here.

Dana:
1 - Cristina, the lady who owns our stateside gym, is Romanian. She contacted her cousin who lives in Bucharest and Anca went everywhere with us when we first arrived. She and her family were so helpful in getting us set up and adjusted.
2 - A lady on my home school eloop knew a missionary from her church who was teaching at the Christian School here in Bucharest. We were able to meet her while she was home for Christmas. She let me know lots of things that I should pack. When Steve called her after moving in they were in the same building for the first two months! She was a great encouragement to him and also cooked for him some until I arrived.
3 - This whole experience has been a blessing. I believe that everything we experience in life the Lord will use to His glory. I can't wait to see why this experience was important for either Steve, me or Maria. I'm thinking Maria has something cool lying ahead of her that this experience will have prepared her perfectly.

Maria:
1 - Friends at gymnastics
2 - A nice apartment
3 - A church with both English and Romanian speakers and teachers.

I am so impressed!

2007-09-03T07:01:00.000+03:00

We have all had to work and live in a very different culture. This is a list of the things that impressed us the most about the other two members of our family.

Stephen:
I was impressed with Dana and her ability to adapt to the difficulties running a household here is amazing, especially finding ingredients and cooking stuff from scratch. Also, her ability to get things done here (riding the public, paying bills, etc) independently instead of sitting in the apartment and waiting for me to get home each day.

I was impressed with Maria's fearlessness in walking into her gymnastics class for the first time, not knowing the language, and with the high quality of talent all around her. Also, her ability to learn Romanian fast and willingness to converse with the Romanian kids and adults.

Dana:
I was impressed with how well Stephen learned the language. He can carry on a conversation in Romanian for hours! It is amazing how many people in our building he knows and speaks with on a regular basis. It is also impressive how he can navigate around in another city when we travel. He has found and planned some amazing adventures for us!

The thing I was impressed with most with Maria was how she handled walking into a Romanian gym to practice. She has NEVER been in a gymnastics class without either me or her Granny there with her. She went from that, to a Romanian practice where the coaches didn't speak any English and the parents weren't even allowed to watch! I was also impressed with how well she handles long traveling days and is able to entertain herself sometimes with just her mind!

Maria:
I was impressed with how Mama adjusted to Romania and her cooking.
I was impressed with Daddy's running and his desire to move to Romania.

The Weekend

2007-09-02T17:55:00.000+03:00

We spent the weekend at the Romanian Nationals for Juniors. It was fun to cheer on our girls. We did quite well.

Today was kinda hard. We had to say our final good-byes at church and then at the competition. Even though we are ready to head home it's still hard to say that final farewell. This is the first time Maria has had to leave an entire segment of her life behind. Steve and I had to in High School, College, and when we left Connecticut. It's tough at age eight. In all honesty it's tough at age 35 too!

Hopefully this week will fly by and we'll be on a plane heading home!

Top Three Funnies!

2007-08-28T17:54:00.000+03:00

There were moments that we had to laugh to keep from crying or laugh while we were crying. But some moments were just funny. Here's our top three funny moments, I'm sure we forgot some!

Stephen:
1 - Dana falling twice during her first week in Bucharest, the 2nd time carrying a pizza (which she protected during the entire falling sequence).

2 - Missionary Steve Mather's daughter Sarah telling me and Eli (the intern) to "Be a Man!" and get into the freezing cold creek for our baths.

3 - During English class at the Bucur's working on the "ee" sound in English, Maria's 6 yr old friend Alexa pronounced the word "sheet" loudly with her Romanian accent. Her older brother Florine, realized what she said sounded like something else and told Gabby his Dad. Gabby told him to "shhh".

Dana:
1 - The Romanian Easter Bunny. Read the full story here.

2 - Accidentally buying A LOT of fornetti due to a translation issue. Read the full story here.

3 - Riding the horses to the pyramids in Egypt. Amazing, but I laughed so hard I was crying! Read the full story here.

Maria:
1 - When Mama forgot to weigh the apples. (This was last week and for some reason, I guess I thought I was already home in the states, but I didn't have my apples weighed and tagged in the produce department. The cashier just looked at me and we all started laughing. Then I jogged back to have them weighed!)

2 - Daddy got a speeding ticket. Read the full story here and here.

3 - When I was mistaken for a gypsy girl! Read about it here. I wrote the post myself!

Rainy Sunday

2007-08-26T16:50:00.000+03:00

It's a rainy Sunday here in Bucharest. That's great since it's been so hot! This cool rainy day is a welcome relief. This is what we've been doing most of the afternoon.

Stephen is playing Civilization III and Maria is watching!

12 more days!

Living Abroad

2007-08-25T17:00:00.000+03:00

Traveling in Europe is very different from living abroad. Many people, including us, have traveled in Europe. It's great! You stay in a hotel or nice apartment. All of you are off work and on vacation together. Actually living somewhere is different and hard. The "usual" jobs must be done, only in a different country and with a different language.

This is the list of the three things that we each found to be the hardest about living overseas.

Stephen:
1 - Being away from family and friends - missing stuff!

2 - More stress when simple tasks get complicated (like driving, taking public transport, etc), especially if you are not in a 1st world country.

3 - Finding things to do during free time, since most cultural events and attractions are communicated in a foreign language.

Dana:
1 - Finding ingredients for our favorite meals. Basically when we first came I tried to make our stateside favorites. That doesn't work, it only makes us homesick. The key is to just create new dishes using the local ingredients.

2 - The staples of a kitchen are slightly different here. For example: the sugar is more granulated, the flour is finer, and the yeast isn't "double acting". All recipes have to be "tweaked".

3 - Paying bills. Here we actually go to the utility company to pay the bill. We don't have a checking account here so everything is handled in cash. I am used to paying bills online for the states.

Maria:
1 - Same. (I thought this was a great first response. Her world is close to the same no matter where she lives. I'm thankful we were able to make her feel secure in another country)

2 - People don't smile at you in the streets.

3 - Gymnastics.

It's Official - Steve is READY TO GO!

2007-08-25T11:39:00.000+03:00

It's been a while, so I figured I would go out with a bang with one last "ugly American" rant. We went grocery shopping this morning at a large hypermarket (think Super Walmart - Euro style) called Auchan.

It's a grocery cart, not a bumper car dude!

It was here in Auchan, that it became clear to me. I AM READY TO GO! I don't know exactly what moment this thought hit me this morning. Perhaps it was getting rammed in "the behind" by a grocery cart while waiting in line for checkout (3 CONSECUTIVE TIMES!). As far as I could tell, the only thing I was guilty of doing was NOT ramming "the behind" of the person in front of me. Seriously dude, where was I going to go!? Anyway, I didn't budge and kept my "behind" right where it was, thank you very much.

Reach out and touch someone

Of course, that wasn't enough. This 50-something yr old gentlemen (the age is important - I'll get to it) was not content with ramming my "behind" with his cart. After the 3rd try, he then moved to the side of his cart and put his body RIGHT BESIDE ME. Then, of course, he had to make contact and procede to ram his chest into my left shoulder (AT LEAST TWICE!). Are you kidding me? What is wrong with these people? As a final insult, you should know that in Europe (especially in Romania) 50-something yr old men are not known for their liberal use of deodorant. I can attest that this fact also came into play during this whole episode.

Steve J (ugly American)

Top Three Travel Destinations

2007-08-23T20:35:00.000+03:00

We considered the city/area itself, what we got to see, the cost, and anything else we deemed important.

Stephen:
1 - Barcelona, Spain. Read about it here, here, here, and here for trip 1 and here and here, for trip 2.
Definitely my favorite of the big cities.
2 - Florence (Tuscany), Italy. Read about it here.
Would have been nice to visit other areas in Tuscany.
3 - Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey. Read about it here.
The least expensive, if you can get there!

Dana:
1 - The Belgium Area. Read about it here, here, here, here, and here.
2 - Barcelona, Spain. One of Stephen's favorites too! The links are under his list.
3 - Vienna, Austria. Read about it here, here, here, here, and here.

Maria:
1 - Cairo, Egypt. Read about it here, here, here, here, here.
2 - Pompeii, Italy. Read about it here.
3 - Barcelona, Spain. See Stephen's list for the links. Evidently we ALL liked this trip!

We enjoyed all our trips but for many reasons these three stood out for each of us!

Only 14 days!

The final days

2007-08-22T02:29:00.000+03:00

As all three of us near our final days here in Bucharest, I wanted to do a final wrap up. I've chosen 10 different topics and all three of us are answering on our own. I'll post a new topic every few days. (That's very specific isn't it?)

The Top Three Things We Have Missed About Living in the USA:

Stephen:
1 - Pizza without ketchup, Buffalo Wings, Good Steak
2 - Roads big enough to actually fit cars
3 - People who know how to stand in line

Dana:
1 - My family living close
2 - My Kitchen (with all the gadgets and conveniences I enjoy)
3 - My washer and dryer

Maria:
1 - Home school activities
2 - Family
3 - A big house

The Daddy is coming too!

2007-08-21T09:21:00.000+03:00

Yipee!!!

Steve got the "go-ahead" to have Lockheed book his final return trip to the states for September 19th! Only 12 days after me and Maria!

When we booked our tickets we just had to take a guess at when he would be finished. Lockheed only pays for his tickets so we needed to book round-trip for me and Maria to make them as inexpensive as possible.

I think 12 days apart is pretty good. We were dreading a possible 2 months.

It will be so good to all be home together again!

Camp Report

2007-08-19T20:36:00.000+03:00

We spoke with the Mathers at church this morning. They were tired, but pleased with how camp went this week. These are the things they mentioned that I can remember:

Weather was great - no rain at all while the kids were there!

They went through 80 loaves of bread daily.

None of the kids had the "stuff" they needed for camp. Last year the missionaries went in and packed for the kids. They thought they would remember what to bring. No. Most didn't even bring a change of clothes. Some had tennis shoes but no flip flops. Some had flip flops but no tennis shoes. It has to be so hard to remember that these kids don't have an adult to help them pack.

The bus cancelled 18 hours before picking up the kids so they had to schedule two vans instead.

They had 6 year olds up to 18 year olds.

They had more discipline issues than last year. Perhaps due to more kids at once and the boys were added to the mix this year.

Several of the children had "melt downs" during the week.

They really seemed to absorb the Word of God. The focus of the Bible study was on trust.

One boy decided on the last night to run away so he could stay, instead of going back to the orphanage. It took three grown men to literally drag him back to camp. Then Cami just sat on the ground and wrapped her legs and arms around him and just held him until he would listen. She had tears in her eyes telling me...I did too.

The last day all the kids were just weeping because they had to leave camp.

Praise the Lord for men and women who offer their lives in service to the Lord! You can tell that they pour out their heart and soul to these kids on a regular basis.

Poor Lonesome Jill

2007-08-17T15:35:00.000+03:00

Our dog, Jill, has been in the states these past two years. We live next door to my parents and Jill was a "free range" dog. Meaning she goes out when she wants and she comes in when she wants (and we want too). So when we got the offer for Romania we asked if my parents would just let her come in their house when she wanted. They agreed.

So we bought her a pillow for their house.

Now it has come to this....

She also has a pillow at my Grandparents (seen in the picture), my Dad is now semi-retired and Jill pretty much just hangs around with him all day. Evidently, according to the picture, she also has a chauffeur service to and from the garden as well.

You can tell by the smile on her face that she misses us terribly, and is counting the days too.

And if she were counting the days she would know that it is down to 21!!!

What a man!

2007-08-15T18:56:00.000+03:00

This was Stephen right after work today. Our light in our bathroom quit working today. I had to take a shower in the dark. He wasn't too happy to have to fix it. He had a really bad day. At some point today at work, he stood up from the floor of the airplane and cut his back on a screw. Thankfully, it didn't go through his shirt, so no germs other than his own.

Then on our way to Auchon to buy a new switch, so we can see to brush our teeth tonight, he bumped another car in the crazy intersection. When the guy got out of his old and run down car he took one look at Steve's nice lease car and suddenly the broken tail light was a major deal! They discussed it. Again I am so thankful that Steve can actually carry a conversation in Romanian. The guy wanted money for the light and since it was our fault that sounded like the easiest option. He wanted more than Steve offered but he told him that was all he had to give. They finally agreed and we went on our way.

He did get the light fixed and had supper. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for him.

I must say though that he was looking like the hunk of a man - that he is - while fixing that light!

Setting up the Camp

2007-08-14T12:13:00.000+03:00

We spent this past weekend helping our missionary friends, the Mathers and the DeWeerds, to set up for camp this coming week. They are expecting 34 boys and girls from the orphanage and around 25 adult helpers this week at the camp. It would be easier for me to give you a day by day idea of what we did. Because, let me tell you, we WORKED this weekend!

Thursday Evening - Cami calls and tells Steve that Steve Mather, Eli (their 22 year old summer intern), Renee (their 12 year old), and McKenna (their 10 year old) are already at the camp. All the other adults are arriving Sunday at supper time. She asked if we could bring supper for Friday night for the 7 of us that would be at camp. No problem!

Friday Morning - Maria's foot was still a little itchy from the spider bite, so we skipped ballet and gymnastics and just did school. I went to the grocery store and bought chicken drumsticks, pasta, pesto and tomatoes for supper. When I got back to the apartment I started the chicken to marinating in a mesquite flavored marinade and packed our bags. Steve arrived home around 12:45 and we were out the door before 1pm. It is crucial that you get out of the city of Bucharest early on Fridays!

Friday Evening - We arrived at camp around 4:30pm. We inspected the cabin for the first time and were informed that we had an actual BED to sleep in that night! Yipee! Steve Mather started the fire and we cooked our supper over the open flame. That's right you just set the pot of water right on the fire and make pasta. So basically you cook everything in a full squat. My legs were so sore after this weekend!

Right as supper was finished cooking, it started raining so we ate in the cabin. I was so thankful that we were able to set at a table, inside, to eat our meal. We even had a light so we set up, playing cards, until around 11pm.

Saturday Morning - Steve Mather made bacon and eggs for breakfast, then went over our "to-do" list for the day. My main job was to set up a kitchen for Noemi's mom to use to feed 60 people for 4 days. They have a metal storage shed that we used for that. First we had to clean all the stuff out of it, sort it, organize it, and re-store it in various locations. I went through the 6 plastic bins of kitchen stuff and threw out all the old stuff and got everything set up in the shed. The men were building two soccer goals and 8 beds for the upper floor of the cabin. Renee and I got lunch ready around noon. Just sandwiches. One of the men walked to the spring (about 1/4 mile away) to get us some cold water for lunch. After lunch someone carried up some creek water for me to wash dishes. The creek is about the distance of a football field.

Saturday Afternoon - The men finished up the beds in the cabin. McKenna and I cut the foam pads for the 8 beds, swept out the upper floor, and started making up beds for the people who were at the camp already. I also cleaned out a few more bins and set up the outside kitchen area with all the pots, pans, and long handled spoons for the cooking fire. The men added a shelf to the serving table and put up hand rails in the cabin. Around 3pm we took a break and I asked Steve M. what was for supper. His response was, "whatever you found in those bins". Yikes! Did he want me to provide a meal for three hard working men and four hard working ladies without a plan? Uh - that would be a yes. So I went to the storage shed and decided on pasta. Then I saw some tomato paste and decided I would whip up a red sauce. So I laid out an onion, 2 cloves of garlic, basil, and oregano. Then I spotted the extra loaves of bread. Oooo, garlic bread! So needless to say, supper was plentiful and eaten up to last crumb! That evening after washing the dishes we feasted on real graham crackers (from the states, you can't get them here), jet puff marshmellows (again states, not in Romania), and good dark European chocolate (we really need to increase our chocolate quality in the states!).

Sunday Morning - The Jutton family had the camp fire going and coffee on by 7am. I was sitting there deciding what to fix for breakfast so I went back to the shed to poke around. I came up with fried potatoes and onions with scrambled eggs. That was a big hit too! Then we worked on setting up some sun shades over the picnic tables. Steve Mather spent the morning cutting down weeds with a weed eater. Eli helped him some with a sickle! The camp was really starting to come together. We also set up the volley ball court and two 12 person tents.

After another lunch of sandwiches, I washed up the last of the dishes and got everything as ready as I could for the other women to walk in the camp at supper time and fix spaghetti for 30 people, as quickly as possible. I hope that the way I organized everything made sense to them. We started back to Bucharest after lunch. Around 3pm we met one of the vehicles heading to camp with all the volunteers.

They should be in the middle of their camp now. Lift them up in prayer as you think of Romania. They have a great opportunity to present God's word to these children in an uninterrupted environment. It will not return void!

Spider Girl!

2007-08-09T14:02:00.000+03:00

Maria commented yesterday that her foot was itching. It looked a little red, but she had been scratching it so I didn't think much of it. Until she got up this morning...

She couldn't walk on it!

I looked at it and it was warm, red and itching like crazy. I vote spider bite. I did some research online and it seems she is having a mild reaction. Nothing to do but...ice it, hydrocortizone, elevate it, and benedryl. I had everything but the benedryl.

So I called our doctor here. They were on vacation in the states but the nurse basically told me what I already knew to do, and that claritine was the closest to benedryl in Romania. Cool - I already had that. So I gave Maria a dose.

We have kept it elevated most of the day. We have iced it and kept hydrocortizone on it too. She's had a dose of claritin and tylenol. I also stripped her bed, washed the sheets, and looked, in vain, for the spider. No luck!

It looks better already. And in case any of you are overly concerned...

She didn't feel bad enough to miss licking the bowl from the chocolate cookies we made this afternoon!

We are looking forward to seeing what kind of "super powers" this gives her! Ha ha

The Secret Hideout

2007-08-08T11:44:00.000+03:00

Maria has made a secret hideout. It probably has something to do with the fact that we are together in this apartment 24/7!

There are entry cards and Steve and I have cards but we usually leave her to her own space. I must admit it looks quite comfortable. I would have done something similar as an 8 year old too.

What does she do in there? Read...what else?

30 days to go!!!!

Let the Countdown Begin!

2007-08-02T12:00:00.000+03:00

Last night I made a countdown paper chain for Maria. I loved these as a kid and would countdown to everything fun and exciting. Our chain of the last days here is long right now but it's already shrinking as of this morning!

We started school this week. We typically school year round and this will help to fill our days these next few weeks. We aren't going to the Romanian gym anymore. They announced while we were in the states that our tuition was going up to around $400 a month. I just can't pay that for gymnastics. Plus, they are preparing the older girls for their Nationals which is in early September. I know they wouldn't be working much with Maria during these weeks anyway.

So in lieu of that, we are doing the Romanian ballet that she learned in our apartment and working the turns, balances and flexibility skills with the equipment for the coming season. I think this will be fine and she won't lose any ground during this time away from a gym.

Here is our new schedule for the next 5 weeks:

7:00am - Breakfast, clean up kitchen, make beds, brush teeth, dress, and put up hair

7:30am - Bible reading and prayer

8:00am - Ballet and equipment handling and new skills

10:00am - Free time

10:30am - School instruction

11:30am - Lunch

12:00 - Finish up school and assign independent assignments

12:30pm - Free Time and independent assignments

3:00pm - Independent assignments due if not already checked

Typically Maria does her independent work right after school so she is "free" for the day.

Here are some pictures of our workout this morning:

Is this the que?

2007-07-30T11:43:00.001+03:00

**For those that don't know: the word que is the British word for line. I personally LOVE the sound of it. Doesn't it just sound better to "stand in the que" than to "stand in the line"?**

On the return flight to Romania I think we finally, successfully handled the Romanian way of queing, without losing our minds. It has bothered me since arriving, that the "queing manual" hasn't been translated into Romanian. You know the manual I'm talking about ... the stand in the line don't pass or cut and be courteous to those around you ... that manual?

It started in the que for the shuttle bus in Venice. This French couple broke in front of about 100 people. After standing there for over an hour we finally got our luggage on the bus in the undercarriage compartment. We then moved to the line to actually get on the bus and sit down. Well the French couple broke in front of me and Maria, with their 150lbs of baggage, and started onto the bus. At this point Stephen John had lost his patience (this would be about the third time I have witnessed this in 17 years of knowing him) and "helped" the gentleman back down the steps and pointed out that his luggage was already on the bus and now his wife and daughter would be getting on the bus too. The Frenchman tried again to board ahead of us and I thought Steve was going to really lose it, but when he helped the guy down the steps again (this time a little more forcefully) the Frenchman decided he really didn't want to take on Steve and he let Maria and I board the bus ahead of them.

We got to the airport and to the gate no problem. We knew what to expect when returning to Romania with a plane load of Romanians. This is the gate at the airport:

No we aren't boarding...this is what happens when someone in uniform approaches the gate. The Romanians stand and crowd the gate. And they stand there until boarding starts and then they jockey for position. This would be a "line" in Romania. Now get this - we are only getting on a bus that WAITS in the broiling sun for ALL the passengers. Even the last three who sat and watched the hoopla and made pictures...yes that would be the Jutton family. We were some of the last on the bus and squeezed in right at the doors. So that made us one of the FIRST on the plane.

This whole process is repeated on landing. As soon as the wheels hit the ground you can hear seat belts clicking as they unbuckle. Then when the plane stops moving, they stand and crowd the aisle. Then they literally crawl over the slower people to get to the...you guessed it...bus. Then they stand there and wait for the last passengers - again that would be us.

It was so much less stressful this time since we just waited until the end every time. I have finally gotten over the assumption that those behind me in line will stay put and be patient and that those in front of me trust me to do the same!

Cruise Finale

2007-07-28T15:04:00.000+03:00

Our final day was at sea. We took advantage of a lazy day. Maria went to Adventure Ocean some. She and Steve built a boat together at one of the activities. Steve and I attended a cooking seminar.

At dinner last night Maria slipped and told the waiter that my birthday was coming so they brought out a cake and sang to me.

We docked in Venice on the 28th and are staying in the farmhouse again. Tomorrow we will return to Bucharest. Maria and I only have 39 days left in Romania before returning home for good!

Corfu, Greece – Day 7

2007-07-26T14:56:00.000+03:00

We had the morning on the ship. We “slept in” until 6:45am and then helped opened the breakfast at 7am! After breakfast we attempted to climb the rock wall and play a round of mini-golf but they were closed due to high wind. The wind was so strong that Maria literally couldn’t stand still on deck.

We returned to our room and read for an hour or so and Maria decided to play board games in Adventure Ocean. We picked her up around 11:30am and headed to a quick lunch before docking around 1pm.

We took a shuttle bus into the town of Corfu. Once there we wandered the streets and saw the old and new forts as well as the churches.

We also had Maria’s name made into a silver necklace with the spelling in Greek. I also purchased a small bottle of olive oil that I will use and then save the bottle for decoration. After an ice cream we boarded the shuttle bus back to the pier.

We had time for a quick swim before dinner. The pool wasn’t crowded at all with most of the other passengers still on land. We don’t sail until 8pm so I think many passengers will eat a late dinner tonight or even eat in Corfu.

Santorini, Greece – Day 6

2007-07-25T14:24:00.000+03:00

Spectacular Santorini -- scene of one of the world's most violent volcanic eruptions around 1450 B.C. -- is arguably the most scenically dramatic of all the Greek Islands. Best views are from the cliffs bordering the caldera, which was formed when the centre of the island basically collapsed in onto itself. It's worth remembering that the bay surrounding Santorini is actually the world's largest volcanic crater, created 3,500 years ago by a massive eruption of the Thera volcano (which is still active!). I was amazed to see how much this area has changed just in the very recent history.

We did a ship excursion where we were picked up from the ship and taken by boat to Erina Cove. From there we hiked up the path of volcanic sand and lava fragments to the summit of the crater. Along the way we saw steam and sulfur coming from the side of a crater and lots of black rock from the last eruption.

After hiking down we boarded the boat again and set sail for the thermal springs of Palea Kameni. We anchored and were allowed to swim about 50 meters to the thermal springs. The water was only around 70 degrees when we jumped in but it felt great after the hot hike!

We did a little souvenir shopping on the pier before taking the tender (small boat) back to our cruise ship. After lunch, and a short nap for the adults, we started getting dressed for the final formal night on board.

Ephesus, Turkey (Kusadasi) – Day 5

2007-07-24T14:08:00.000+03:00

The primary appeal to Turkey's Kusadasi is its proximity to the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, the best preserved classical city in the Eastern Mediterranean. Just 30 years ago Kusadasi was a sleepy, traditional Turkish seaside village, dependent for its living on fish, farming and honey production. Since then, though, the double-edged sword of mass tourism has brought wealth (its main street sidewalks are now finished in marble!) and, with that, mass commercialization. Thronged with traffic and lined with ever more expensive carpet and jewelry shops, you can still find pockets of old-style Turkey amidst the narrow, winding streets of its old town, which house vibrant markets and traditional Turkish baths, and offer a chance to bargain for Oriental carpets.

A trip to Ephesus; it's the best-preserved ancient city in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Virgin Mary is believed to have visited here between 37 and 45 A.D., and the fabulous Temple of Cybele at Artemis -- which Alexander the Great visited during its construction in 334 B.C. -- was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Located just eight miles from Kusadasi, Ephesus at one time was the most important commercial center in the region. The city was built on the river Cayster -- a strategic trade route to Anatolia. The ruins range from a theater and library to private terrace houses with magnificent mosaics and frescoes.

We took a ship excursion to Ancient Ephesus. After a short bus ride from Kusadasi to Ephesus we began our tour. We were able to see the Odeon, the Fountain of Trajan, the five terraces of the apartment houses, the steam baths of Scholastika, the temple of Hadrian and the impressive library of Celsius. The library was adorned with columns and statues.

The last highlight of our walk through the ruins was the Grand Theater, where Paul preached. It is the largest theater in antiquity with a capacity of 24,000 seats. It was amazing to stand there and imagine the Word of God going out from the mouth of Paul to a stadium full of eager listeners. I would have loved to have heard him today.

After leaving the ruins we headed back to town and to a famous rug making gallery. They gave us an excellent lesson in rug making and purchasing. We even had a sample of Turkish hot apple tea and a pastry. We enjoyed the display very much. It was mind boggling to see these rugs that are hand made and to hear the time and labor required. The top rug we were shown took three women, three years to make. Prices weren’t mentioned but I’m fairly sure that it was out of our price range!

We had lunch on the boat, rested in the room, and then Maria decided to head to Adventure Ocean in time for the ice cream party this afternoon.

With our visit to Turkey today we marked off continent number 5! The only continents we haven’t set foot in are Australia and Antarctica. Maria still needs to get to South America but that’s much closer to home!

At dinner tonight the wait staff serenaded us with the Italian love song, “O Solo Mio”. This is a cruise tradition on Royal Caribbean and maybe other boats as well. We laughed and cheered and hooted and clapped. It was lots of fun to see them being goofy.

Iraklion , Crete – Day 4

2007-07-23T13:56:00.000+03:00

According to mythology, Crete, Greece is the mythical land of King Minos. It is where the Minoan civilization started, one of the most important civilizations of the world. They built palaces and established a naval empire in the Mediterranean. This great civilization was stopped by the huge waves caused by the eruption of the volcano of Santorini, Greece in 1450 BC and by the invasion of the Achaeans and the Dorians.

From there Crete has been handed over to the Arabs, the Venetians, and the Ottomans. Around 1900 they were declared an autonomous state and, in 1913, were united with the newly built independent Greek State.

We had scheduled an easy day at a nearby resort to enjoy their beach and hotel facilities. We drove for around 30 minutes from the port along the North Coast of Crete and saw row upon row of olive trees as well as figs. The area seems to be very rocky and dusty.

We arrived at the Creta Maris Hotel and Resort and claimed two chairs under an umbrella overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The water was clear and around 80 degrees. The sun was bright and warm in a clear blue sky. The tour guide gave us each a voucher for a soda and we were on our own.

Steve and Maria headed to the water to swim and I “held down” our beach chairs. After about 45 minutes they came in to rest in the shade for a few minutes and we shared soda #1. We saved the glass bottle since it was written in Greek. It will eventually make its way to SC and the top of my kitchen cabinets. I just love free souvenirs!

Then Maria decided she needed to find a rock for Grandmother June so they took off again. The beach was small stones in various shades of brown. They were very hot so flip-flops were a must.

In another 45 minutes they returned, rocks in hand. We split soda #2 and a banana and two rolls I had brought from breakfast.

They had about 30 more minutes until we needed to change for the ride back to the port so they made for the water again. After a quick change we shared soda #3 and made our way to our tour bus.

We arrived back in time for a late lunch and then headed to the room to rest and shower for supper.

After his shower, Steve announced that he had burnt his belly. I think my sunscreen is a little old and the Mediterranean sun was VERY hot today. Maria is a little pink too. Oddly enough I didn’t get hardly any sun! That umbrella was awesome.

Sunday – At sea

2007-07-22T13:49:00.000+03:00

Maria spent the morning and late afternoon at the Adventure Ocean club enjoying the activities. There are quite a few English speaking children on board. She seemed to be having a great time each time we arrived to pick her up. She has even spoken to several of the children at other times on the ship when we would see them again.

She was with us for lunch. After lunch, she and Stephen tried out the rock climbing wall. They both did well but thought this wall was harder than the one last year.

Tonight was formal night and Maria looked beautiful in her Chinese dress that our friends Sue and Joe brought back from China.

Dubrovnik, Croatia – Day 2

2007-07-21T13:42:00.000+03:00

We started our day with breakfast and watching as we approached Croatia. We arrived around 9am and began the tenders around 10am.

Dubrovnik is a bit like Venice without the canals. It has that same aura of ancient, tiny "streets" filled with life rather than cars, but it's laid out on a much smaller scale. One of the major distinctions of Dubrovnik is that the medieval-era city is a walled city -- completely encircled. The atmosphere is lighter here, perhaps as much due to its gorgeous setting -- on the shores of the Caribbean-blue Adriatic -- as for the sand colored stone of its buildings. Dubrovnik is still being restored; the city was seriously damaged as a result of shelling that occurred during the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian war in 1991 - 1992.

We took the ship excursion to “walk the wall” of the city. The stone walls that completely encircle the city -- as much as 81 ft. high and 1.5 miles around -- have stairs at two points. The views were breathtaking; we could see forever over the Adriatic, the over-the-terra cotta rooftop town, and even peek into the backyards of some of the private homes and apartments that line the edges of the walled city. We started at the entrance to the walled city -- the Pile Gate. We were also able to visit the Fort of St. John Maritime Museum.

Dubrovnik was so beautiful with the terra cotta tile roofs. Walking the wall was extremely hot but worth the effort. After returning to the boat we had a light lunch and headed to the pool before it was too crowded. We swam and enjoyed the water in the shade for about an hour before going to the room to shower for supper.

Friday - Day 1 of Cruise

2007-07-20T13:37:00.000+03:00

The picture above is the Venice Resort where we stayed before leaving for the cruise. It was lovely. We spent all day Thursday hanging out here since Maria was feeling a little yucky. On Friday morning after breakfast we took the public bus down to the pier and had no problem finding our way to the boat.

We boarded the boat at 11am. It was very quick and smooth since we were one of the first families to arrive. After eating lunch on board we changed into swimsuits and spent the afternoon enjoying the pool and sunshine. Thankfully the pool water was much warmer than the cruise we went on last year. Hopefully the ocean water will be warmer too!

By 4pm we had all the luggage in the room and everything unpacked and put away.

4:30pm was the Muster Drill and then supper at 6:30pm

A good start to the week.

Breaking the Law!

2007-07-19T12:12:00.000+03:00

We found out on Tuesday that the airport personnel in Venice were going on strike the next day...the day we were scheduled to...fly to Venice.

Not good!

So we spent the next 24 hours watching the flights take off and land...or be cancelled. Steve googled the driving directions to Italy. And praying...lots of praying.

The flights were looking good and we headed to the airport around 7pm. We checked in and tried to check all 4 of our bags. Since we were flying on a low cost airline, we could check 45 kg of luggage. We were slightly over. We could either pay a surcharge or carry one on the plane. I grabbed the smallest bag to carry on and we took off for the security line.

I put the bag, my pocketbook, and Maria's backpack on the belt and walked through the metal detector. The scanner had her hand on my bag and asked if it was mine. I nodded and she said, "you have a scissors in here?". She had this odd look on her face. I thought a moment and then it hit me. Yes I did! I was planning on checking that bag so I had put the scissors in there. Then she said, "and lots of liquids". Then it really hit me...ALL... and I mean ALL our toiletries were in that bag.

The picture says it all....

I think the only "contraband" I didn't have in there was a lighter!

Here is the complete list of illegal items I tried to carry on the airplane:

Hairspray
Mousee
Sunscreen
Aftershave
Pastas
Saline
Shampoo
Toothpaste
Facial Cleanser
Bath get
Lotion
Razor
6 inch Scissors

The scanners must have thought that we've been living under a rock for the past year!

Needless to say, Steve went back and paid to check that bag. So we're in Venice now and will board the cruise ship tomorrow.

We're Ba-ack!

2007-07-17T07:06:00.000+03:00

Maria and I arrived in Bucharest on Sunday afternoon. By bedtime we had everything unpacked and the house dusted.

Sleep is still being interrupted from about midnight until 3am. Typical, but aggravating to say the least.

We spent yesterday cleaning, grocery shopping, lesson planning, and trying not to nap during the daytime!

We leave at 11:30pm for Venice tomorrow. Our cruise to Greece departs on Friday. Hopefully our sleeping patterns won't be too off by then.

I'll try to post from Italy before we head out.

Camp Living Water Update

2007-06-14T13:10:00.000+03:00

Hello everyone. Sorry for not posting lately, but I've been keeping busy during Dana and Maria's absence from Romania. This is the best way to pass the time! After my previously posted food-fest, I spent the next two weekends with the missionaries of Stepping Forward at Camp Living Water. These photo's are from both weekend trips. During the last week of May a team of very skilled carpenters representing Missouri reformed baptist churches came and built the cabin you see here. Most of the work was done in 3 1/2 days. The cabin is basically 1.5 stories with a stairway going up to a "sleeping" floor. Unfortunately, the sawmill broke down halfway through the week leaving the roof only half-done and the siding not started. The good news is that the team left the missionaries some nice equipment to finish up with including a big generator, compressor, nail gun and tons of nails.

Weekend #1 (June 9-11)

The sawmill remained out of commission during the weekend of June 9-10, but I went up anyway to help with some odd jobs. 3 of Steve's 4 girls were with him and they brought 3 friends for a visit. The group, without me, is here on the right. The guys were in the minority on this trip! Steve had promised his girls that he would work on their tree house, so he was focused on that project most of the weekend. I have to specially mention Steve's daughter Sara (age 15 wearing the blue cap) who prepared (and cleaned up) ALL the meals for the group this weekend. The next photo shows me and Sara (working as usual) carry fresh spring water back to camp:

While Steve was busy, Eli (an intern staying for the summer - back left of supper photo) and I improved the cabin stairs, dug post holes for a future gazebo (another small team is coming in late June to build this), installed shelves in the storage container and whacked some weeds. It was in the upper 80's on both days and the cool creek baths were a real blessing (after the initial shock of the freezing water). One evening, Eli and I went up to an orthodox monastery located about 5 miles even further out than the camp. As you can see, they have been putting a lot of work into it. The white building on the left is the monk's quarters and the chapel is shown below.

Weekend #2 June 15-17

For the weekend of June 15-17, the plan was to get the sawmill working and cut the remaining logs. There is another work team coming from the USA at the end of June to help finish the cabin and possibly make some headway on the Gazebo. It was a quieter camp experience since only Me, Steve and Eli went up. The first task was to get the sawmill working. At first, it didn't go well. Steve and Eli installed the spark plugs they had brought, but it still didn't work. We were a bit discouraged as we got supper ready. For the supper blessing Steve prayed briefly about the sawmill. Then, after supper, Steve and Eli headed back down to the sawmill for one last try. I stayed near the fire until, about 30 minutes later, I heard the sawmill crank. We were fired up! It turned out to be a totally different problem than we thought - just a bad switch that Steve removed and "hot wired."We went to bed happy and thankful!

So, We worked half the day on Saturday cutting the wood that the next team will use. After that, we started the tough assignment of digging around the cabin to correct the drainage situation. The cabin is on a slope and ALOT of dirt had to be removed from the back and sides. This is when I found out that Eli is a digging machine! After about 3 hrs my hands were about to fall off - but Eli kept going and we did too. Finally at supper time, Eli said he was getting tired. With seconds, Steve said "OK, we're done!". (I was already dropping my shovel to the ground when Eli spoke)

On Sunday, we made a few bed frames from some extra wood. After we were done cutting, Eli announced that only two of us were needed to assemble the bed frames and he decided to go dig some more (did I mention Eli is only 21). Anyway, Steve and I said "Great!, Go for it" and continued work on the beds. Well, that about covers it. We actually ate pretty well for just being the 3 of us, and had a good time. Next stop for me is Upstate, NY to visit my side of the family (and of course see Dana and Maria in the process). We'll be back in July!

La Mulţ Ani Florine!

2007-06-03T19:45:00.000+03:00

Florin Bucur turned 10 today and I was invited to represent the Juttons since 2/3rds of the family is back in the states. Yes, I had to "tough" it out during another Romanian family eating marathon. Hey, someones got to do it.

Things got started at around 2 pm with snacks and drinks as I met more friends and family of the Bucurs. I also had the chance to practice some more Romanian since I was the only foreigner there. Fortunately, many of these folks had some pretty good English language skills and made it alot easier for me. As usual, the hospitality was awesome and everyone went out of there way to make sure I was comfortable (and well fed too).

You ate what?

The first course, the soup, was by far the most interesting and something new for me to try. It was a soup called "Ciorbă de Burtă". Ciorbă (pronounced CH-EE-OR-BUH) simply means soup and "Ciorba de Burtă" translates to Tripe Soup. The main ingredient of Romanai Tripe Soup is a cow stomach along with vinegar, sour cream, veggies and garlic. The stomach pieces are very chewy and you can see one of those bad boys on the picture to the right. It was actually pretty good, but you all know I will eat just about anything anyway.

Just Grill it

From there, 2 courses of grilling followed. The first batch was grilled chicken. It was served with cucumber and tomato salad in vinegar.

The second grill course (by now it was about 5 pm - 3 hrs and counting) was sausages served with mustard and bread. You can see Gabby Bucur, the grill master working on the sausages. When it comes to eating large quantities of meat, these Romanians take 2nd to nobody, period!

Of course, we had cookies and other stuff for desert too. This isn't the first time we've had one of these all-afternoon Sunday eating sessions, so I was smart enough to eat very little for breakfast this morning. Even so, I probably won't be hungry for the next 18-24 hours!

Heading to the States

2007-05-30T05:39:00.000+03:00

Maria and I leave for the states tomorrow.

We will spend June and most of July there. We are meeting Stephen in NY to visit his side of the family for a week in the middle. Not much has been happening here. We spent the weekend at the camp with the missionaries again. The weather was sunny and HOT! We helped prepare for a team from Missouri that is there this week building a cabin. Maria has been working hard at gymnastics practice. She has the US Nationals next weekend.

Just for fun here are 10 ways that we know it's almost time to go:

1 - The tickets say so!
2 - The Granny has reminded us of the number of days left - several times.
3 - I have gone from the "we have more than enough room" to the "where will we put all this stuff" in the suitcase - phase.
4 - There are 10 packets of pre-chopped chicken breast in the freezer to make life easier for Stephen.
5 - There are three packages of frozen banana nut bread in there too.
6 - I have my list of rhythmic equipment ready to purchase for the gymnasts here.
7 - I have requested 10 books at the library in my hometown and they will be waiting on me Friday.
8 - I have my appointment with Beth, my "hair lady", on Friday too!
9 - There are suitcases everywhere.
10 - I am already dreading the three week separation from Stephen.

We head out tomorrow morning and if all goes according to plan we will be walking off the plane in SC around 6:30pm!

I won't be posting from the states as this is our "Romanian" blog. Stephen may guest post some, but otherwise, I'll be back the end of July just in time for our "BIG" trip for this year.

School's out, school's out...

2007-05-24T07:52:00.000+03:00

No I didn't let the mule out but I did see one today!

Maria and I finished up what we called 3rd grade today. It's hard to label what grade since we work at whatever level she needs for each subject. This year the range was from 3rd to around 7th grade.

It was a good year - the "field trips" were amazing! We typically finish in April but all the traveling threw us behind our usual schedule. I only count "book work" towards my 180 days. Field trips are just bonuses. Since we school year-round, we'll start 4th grade this summer in the states. It'll take at least a week to unpack the new curriculum and get some lesson plans going but then we'll knock out a few weeks before returning to Romania.

Here's an overview of our year:

Bible - We're using Balancing the Sword and covered the following books: Genesis, Exodus, Ruth, Psalms, Proverbs, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Zephaniah, Matthew, Luke, Philippians, 2John, 3John, and Jude. This curriculum has you read a passage then answer comprehension questions about it. So you systematically read through the Bible allowing God's Word to speak for itself.

History and Literature - We use Sonlight and have for 3 years now. We both love it! We studied the second half of American history. Sonlight uses books to learn about the time period. Some are readers that she reads on her own and some are read-alouds that we read together.

Math - We switched to Singapore Math this year and I'm enjoying the change so far. We had to back track a little to cover some miscellaneous topics that we had missed like volume and graphs. We covered addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing up to the thousands place. Two step word problems, measuring, estimating and graphs were also included. We also started on multiplication and division with all numbers except 7 and 8s. She can go through the flash cards and only misses typically the 6,7,8 multiplied by the 6,7,8. Sometimes she gets those too, but not consistently.

Science - God's Design for Life: The Animal Kingdom - Wonderful study. I wish we had better access to materials for all the experiments here. Many activities we had to skip since we couldn't find the materials needed.

Spelling - Spelling Power - This is a program that carries you through 12th grade. The student takes a test that places them so the words assigned are challenging. Everyday we test for 5 minutes. She only has to do activities with the words she misses. Maria loves this since she is an outstanding speller. I even did this with her. Thankfully I placed the the 12th grade and finished up about a month ago.

Grammar - Easy Grammar 34 - These workbooks are ok. They're quick and we like that. Maria is usually very good at grammar since she has such strong reading skills.

Logic - We used several workbooks from Critical Thinking Press. She also plays lots of games. Both with us and simulation games on the computer. We also used Read and Think 5 Sheets from Abeka books.

Here is a list of books she read this year. I'm sure it's not complete but this was all we could think of yesterday. She also read several books for a second, third or fourth time but we didn't include those.

The Winged Watchman
The Great Turkey Walk
Across Five Aprils
Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems
Caddie Woodlawn
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Miracles on Maple Hill
Little Britches
Cheaper by the Dozen
The Great Wheel
Moccasin Trail
A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt
Lincoln: A Photobiography
Hero Over Here
In Search of the Source
William Wilberforce
The Story of Thomas Alva Edison
By the Great Horn Spoon
Freedom Train
Shades of Gray
Turn Homeward, Hannalee
Old Yeller
Helen Keller
All-of-a-Kind Family
Thimble Summer
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Plain Girl
The Seventeenth Swap
Bruchko
The Wright Brothers
George Washington Carver
Sing Down the Moon
The Secret Garden
Alice in Wonderland
The Cricket in Time Square
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
The Egypt Game
The Gypsy Game
A Bear Named Trouble
Dr. Doolittle
Mary Poppins
The Twenty-one Balloons
Several Nancy Drew Series
Several Boxcar Children Series
Several Animal Ark Books
Several Childhood of Famous Americans
Several of the "Before I Made History Books"

Overall we had a great year. We are both looking forward to what 4th grade will hold for us! Our 60 lb. box of Sonlight books is waiting for us in the states!

If you want to see more information about our curriculum you can click on the links.

Only in Bucharest

2007-05-20T12:59:00.000+03:00

This greeted us when we left our apartment for church this morning:

Try to keep in mind that we live on the 10th floor. Where did this dog poo come from? Well, yes, I know the obvious answer is....a dog. But what was he doing running around on the 10th floor? Where was the owner? Or better yet - why didn't the owner remove the poo?

We've gotten accustomed to dodging the poo on the sidewalk, but not on our way to the trash chute.

That's just wrong!

2007-05-17T20:27:00.000+03:00

Stephen just got a work email that there is leftover barbecue in the work room. This is usually great news for the man that has literally rescued ice cream from the trash can.

The only problem is we're in Romanian and the work room is in Greenville. Major bummer! It would have been better not to have known.

We both sat here in silence after we said, "that's just wrong".

Then I said, "with all the pigs here they really should do some BBQ"

To which he replied in his dry humor, "yeah but they'd either put ketchup or rum in it!"

The man has a point!

Nationals Day 2

2007-05-16T17:57:00.000+03:00

Today was the final day for the Romanian National Championship. Maria started off first again with ribbon and she did good. There were a few small glitches but overall a solid routine. She scored a 16.980 and would have ranked around 17th.

The rest of our Romanian team did well and the team ended up placing 2nd in the team competition.

At these competitions they serve lunch to all the gymnasts as well as the coaches and judges. Of course, Maria didn't care for the Romanian food (she brought her own tuna) so you can see who thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the Romanian competitions!

Maria was excited to march in with all the gymnasts. There were around 100 girls there. After all the medals and stuff they called Maria up to the podium to receive her diploma and goodie bag.

The team, coaches and spectators certainly welcomed us but this is what REALLY lit up Maria's face this morning. It was in my email and it certainly got our day off to a terrific start! Thanks girls in the states, we can't wait to see all of you in two weeks.

Overall it was a great experience and I think she feels much more prepared for the US Nationals that we will be at this summer.

Romanian Nationals - Day 1

2007-05-15T20:33:00.000+03:00

Let them praise His name with the dance
Psalm 149:3a

We had a great first day at the National Championships. Maria was the first gymnast to step foot on the floor. She did great! She scored a 17.6 on her floor routine which based on the other scores that the Mamas had written down (I, of course, couldn't listen fast enough to the annoucer to understand on my own) she would have placed 3rd out of almost 60 competitors.

This afternoon she competed her rope routine. It was very good as well. She was competing against the next level in this routine. She scored a 16.975 which I thought was great. That would have ranked her around 22nd out of 56 gymnasts.

She isn't eligible for any awards since she is a foreign athlete but the thrill of competing at this huge meet is awesome.

I don't have any pictures. Every single one of mine turned out blurry. The video is great but I didn't bring the correct cable with me from the states; so hopefully one of my Romanian friends will have mercy on me and upload them for me at some point. If not, it'll have to wait until we return to the states to visit in a couple of weeks.

Tomorrow is ribbon and the closing ceremony. I'll try to do better about getting some pictures tomorrow.

The scripture at the top was part of our Bible reading two weeks ago in school. It just seemed so perfect for today.

Podium Training

2007-05-14T13:32:00.000+03:00

We had podium training at the competition today. Our team had an hour and a half to go through their routines on the competition floor. It was very exciting. Maria looked good, a little nervous at first but by the end of the practice she was ready for the days to come!

We'll keep you posted.

This Morning...

2007-05-11T09:40:00.000+03:00

Scene: Mama in the kitchen preparing breakfast "doings". Maria supposedly just waking up to start her day. The time is 6:25am.

Enter Maria (trying to look sleepy)

Mama: Good morning, did you sleep well?

Maria: Yes, what's for breakfast?

Mama: Eggs and bagels.

Maria: Call me when it's ready, I'll be in my room. I built a fort in my bed and all the pollys are in there set up in their houses.

Mama: (quickly figuring the time required for such a set up) What time did you wake up?

Maria: I just came out of my room (trying to, not so subtly, avoid the actual question)

Mama: Were you awake when Daddy left? (This was 5:25am)

Maria: (smiling angelically) yes, but I promise it wasn't in the 4's!

You do what you have to do!

2007-05-09T16:54:00.000+03:00

I've been craving bagels for about a week now.

So today I went to the garage, hopped in my car, drove to Simpsonville, parked at Panera Bread, ran in and ordered a half dozen to go with a latte on the side.

No....Wait.....that is the states......we are in.....Romania.

So this is what I did. This morning while drinking my plain coffee (at least someone else made it for me - thanks Honey!) I logged onto my favorite recipe site and typed in "bagels". I looked at the recipes and picked one.

This afternoon Maria and I made bagels, from scratch! How cool is that?

To quote Stephen when he came in the door tonight, "you guys are out of control!"

They are yummy! The only thing we'll do differently is flip them half way through baking so they bake more evenly. One side is a little too brown, the other not brown enough.

I Wonder Why...

2007-05-08T20:06:00.000+03:00

Maria is currently undergoing some "intestinal issues". I'm usually the one that is struck with this problem. Something in the water gets me every once in a while.

It was a daily issue until Stephen starting making the coffee with bottled water. After living here for 18 months you just have to try once in a while.

I use the Romanian water to make rice and pasta (it boils after all) and we brush our teeth with it.

After having a day with a yucky tummy this is the sight that greeted us when we went to brush our teeth for bed:

To quote Maria, "I am NOT brushing my teeth with that!". After letting it run for 10 minutes we gave up and went to get the bottled water.

By the way, the picture was taken after it had run another 10 minutes. Just imagine how brown it was when we first turned it on!

Rollerblading

2007-05-05T15:26:00.000+03:00

It was a beautiful day today so we headed to the park to rollerblade. It went even better this time and I only "woup"-ed a few times! We skated around the park and looked at all the flowers in bloom and enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine.

Steve and Maria even dug out shorts for the occasion but I just didn't have the heart to subject everyone to my winter white legs. I've never gotten over Kirk's laughter at my very white legs in early summer.

What an Honor!

2007-05-03T20:38:00.000+03:00

We just got word that Maria has been invited to compete with the Rhythmic Gymnastics team here at the...

Romanian National Championships

Oh. My. Word. We thought it wasn't going to be possible since we hadn't heard anything but evidently the coaches have been working on it behind the scenes.

There is an extra fee for being a foreign athlete, but it is so worth it. Maria has worked so hard and this is the "icing on the cake". I mean, come on, what other eight year old is doing ballet EVERY morning by 8am?!?

What fun and excitement for the Juttons!

Anyone want to come and cheer with us?

Second Camping Trip

2007-04-30T14:05:00.000+03:00

We headed out to the camp again this weekend. This time there was a total of 17 people there.

We had the two missionary families that are running the camp. Steve and Cami Mather with all four of their girls and Scott and Noemi DeWeerd.

Then we had another missionary family Dewayne and Donna with their two kids, the three of us, and another "MK" that goes to school with all the other kids. There was also a interim missionary, just out of college, that came with the Mathers for the weekend.

By the time we arrived on Friday, with two of the Mather girls, the floor was already down on the shed. The men worked for a short while sawing more logs and then we had supper. The van with the rest of the kids arrived late (they stayed for the full school day). Steve had been to the embassy to renew his passport and had bought REAL graham crackers for the s'mores. Everyone raved on them!

All 7 of the unmarried females slept in one tent. It was wall to wall sleeping bags. Maria loved it!

The next morning the men went to work and built the walls and roof. They even had the siding up by supper! Then after supper they decided to go ahead and work until dark and get the shingles up too.

During the day the girls played in the woods and built a little fort, waded in the creek and ran with Abby, the DeWeerd's beagle.

After lunch on Sunday, we were sitting in the blazing sun discussing what still needed to be packed up when a very dark cloud rolled over the mountain. Following it was a very cold breeze. Then a little thunder in the distance! We quickly decided to fore go the volleyball game and pack up...quick! People scattered and we managed to get everything in the metal building and locked up before the real rain started.

Steve Mather had been staying at the camp for the past 37 days since they had no way to lock up the sawmill. Thankfully, with the shed that was completed this weekend he got to come home and spend the week with his family.

We are an oddity

2007-04-23T07:39:00.000+02:00

I still find it amusing how people in our area react to the fact that we are Americans. Most have never met someone that was actually born in America. Most know someone who has moved there.

When we first started at gymnastics, everyone would fall silent when we walked into the locker room. They would even quit talking to each other! Now they greet us (usually in both languages) and some of the older ones will even start conversations with me. I love it!

Today, though, I had to go to the post office. While in line, the older gentleman behind me noticed that my passport wasn't maroon like the Romanian ones. He tapped it and asked me something I didn't understand. I told him I didn't understand (in Romanian). He then asked if I spoke Romanian. I told him a small bit. So he asked where I was from. I answered in Romanian. I was very pleased with my ability and thought this would end the conversation. I smiled and looked away.

Not so quick lady, this may be my only chance to talk to a native American.

So we went on to discuss the tragedy in VA. The professor who blocked his classroom was from Romania originally. He told me that and I agreed. He must have thought that we couldn't get English news here. Then he told me that things like that don't happen in Romania.

He mentioned President Bush and former President Clinton. I think he liked Clinton better but I'm not sure.

He knew about New York City. No facts just the name. I nodded and expressed that I had heard of it too.

Several things he said I didn't understand. When I would shake my head he just said them louder and leaned closer. I would nod and say yes!

Then he wanted to help me, so when it was my turn he maneuvered me into position and nodded toward the clerk. I smiled and handed her my notice and passport. He then asked me if I needed money for my package. I told him no, I was good. It was like standing there with my grandfather.

He also told me he learned Russian in school but now they learn English. And he has 9 children.

When I got my package I told him goodbye and left. For all I know he may be blogging about our encounter right now too!

Camping with the Missionaries

2007-04-22T17:30:00.000+02:00

We left Bucharest on Friday after lunch and headed out to the camp with our missionary friends. We were planning on helping cut lumber to build a shed. They have a new sawmill and the logs were waiting for us.

The camp is in a beautiful setting. We reached the end of the paved road, the electrical lines, the cell towers, the water and sewer pipes and drove another 10 minutes into the country before coming to the camp!

It was great! They already have tents set up on platforms and an entire cooking area. We checked out everything and threw our stuff in one of the tents.

This is the outhouse. It actually has a seat that is over the hole in the ground. The smell wasn't bad at all!

The first night was just us and Steve Mather. His wife, two of his girls, and Scott came up early on Saturday morning. They had a concert at school Friday night.

After breakfast on Saturday we all headed down to the sawmill and the 5 adults rolled a 2000 pound log up onto the mill!

The girls went to play in the mud. They had so much fun hiking and playing in the creek and poking the fire and catching frogs and lizards!

This was the only bath any of us took for the weekend!

It was so much fun we plan to go back next weekend and help build the shed with the lumber we sawed this weekend.

Don't let the pictures fool you! The sunshine was warm, if fact we all have rosy cheeks. However the temperature last night was below freezing. I slept in 4 layers on my top half and added another one when I got out of bed. I was probably the coldest. Everyone else either grew up out west, the north or Romania! I have no clue how Maria was running around barefoot in stream water. Although we've always called her our "little Yankee baby"!

The Paperdoll Community

2007-04-18T14:22:00.000+02:00

We have to limit the amount of toys and dolls that we bring since we have to get EVERYTHING home within 400 lbs. Sounds like a lot until you start packing.

So Maria has taken to making new dolls. She now has over 175 paper dolls. They range from about 1cm for the babies to 9cm for the adults. Now these aren't random dolls. They have names and ages written on the backs of their heads. They have families. There are twins, triplets and quadruplets. There are different nationalities with appropriate names. There are complicated stories associated with each family. And she knows when one if missing and asks me, "Mama, have you seen Kitia?".

Priceless

2007-04-16T19:40:00.000+02:00

Birthday goodies for Maria...costs less than $35
Box to ship them in...free from our basement (I'm assuming this!)
Gas to drive to the PO...$1
Shipping to Romania...$35
Time to Arrive....4 weeks
Bus ticket to PO in Romania...30 cents
Tax on package...15 lei or $5

The Smile on my Sweet Girl's face....PRICELESS!

Thanks, Granny and Papa - you're awesome!

Day Two at the Irina Deleanu Cup

2007-04-15T16:44:00.000+02:00

We spent most of the afternoon at the Irina Deleanu Cup. The gymnasts did their last two events today. We had lots of fun.

Before the awards the Moldavian singer, Anna Lesko, performed a few songs. The girls really enjoyed it. I enjoy a different style of music but it was fun seeing the gymnasts laugh and cut up!

Our Romanian girls took 1st and 2nd in the Junior division. They are really coming on strong. I would love to see them perform well at the 2008 Olympics!

I took a few pictures today!

Stay tuned - we're heading to the orphan camp to work with our missionary friends this weekend. Hopefully the "Jutton rain curse" won't rear it's ugly, wet head!

Irina Deleanu Cup in Romania

2007-04-14T16:23:00.000+02:00

Oh. My. Word.

We saw some amazing gymnasts today at the Irina Deleanu Cup.

Filipa Siderova from Bulgaria was one of my favorites to watch. Of course we love our Romanian girls since we feel like we "know" them.

The groups competed 5 sets of clubs and they were breath-taking! Especially the Bulgarian group. It was like watching a magic show! You couldn't keep up with where all 10 clubs were. One minute I would think, "that gymnast doesn't have any clubs" and then all of a sudden one gymnast would toss about 6 clubs in the air from ONE hand!

Lots of fun. I didn't try to take pictures since I just wanted to enjoy watching. I did make a picture of our group in the stands!

Amsterdam on Tuesday

2007-04-11T06:28:00.000+02:00

We crossed the border over into the Netherlands today. It was almost three hours on the train but they're comfortable and fairly inexpensive.

Our first stop was to the secret annex, where Anne Frank hid during the Nazi occupation. You couldn't take pictures inside but we took a few outside. We literally stepped through the opening behind the bookcase and into the secret annex! I had already figuratively stepped through, with Anne holding my hand, as a child. It was amazing to share this experience with Maria. I kept getting teary eyed thinking about those 8 people living there for so long! They had the black out curtains up and even Maria said, "I would have missed the sunshine and being outside". This is probably my favorite experience, since I had already been there while reading.

We headed to the flower market and oohed and aahed over the huge flowers and bulbs. They were amazing.

There were bicycles everywhere. They even had a parking garage for bicycles at the train station.

Then we went to a new museum called the NEMO. It is an interactive science museum and we ALL had a blast.

We caught the 5:23pm train headed back to Brussels and ate our supper out of a paper bag.

Back to Bucharest tomorrow.

Monday in Bruges, Belgium

2007-04-09T17:17:00.000+02:00

After a lazy start to the day this morning, we headed out to Bruges. For those that don't know us, that means we had a hot breakfast and were out the door to the train station by 8am!

We arrived in Bruges and took a bus to the old city center. It is a beautiful area with cobblestone streets and horse-drawn carriages. We took the canal tour. It lasted about 30 minutes and gave us a quick overview of the city.

We could see this dog looking out his window and watching the boats go by in the canal. I thought he was hilarious. We laughed and wondered how many times a day he gets his picture taken since most of the people on the tour with us took his picture too. I'm posting it especially for Gramma since we talked about her when we saw the dog!

We walked to the edge of town and climbed the hill to view the windmills. Maria loved this since she has been reading The Winged Watchman, by Hilda van Stokum. It is set during WW2, during the Nazi occupation of Holland. The family in the book lived in a windmill. This trip has really brought the book "to life"!

As we were walking, we came across a playground and Maria took a "break" to play. The park the playground was in was beautiful and there were lots of people taking advantage of the sunshine and the holiday.

We ate a late lunch and wandered the streets some more then headed back to Brussels on the train.

Easter Sunday in Brussels

2007-04-08T19:35:00.000+02:00

We started out our day worshiping our risen Lord at the International Baptist Church. Maria went to Sunday School and we all attended the worship service. They had a baptism of 5 people. Before they were baptised, they gave their testimony from the baptismal pool. It was an awesome start to the day!

We made a brief stop back at our apartment to change into "tourist" shoes then headed out again. We went toward the Grote Market where the Manneken Pis is located. We have dubbed this particular European landmark the "tinkle boy".

After seeing the little Belgian boy, we went in the Chocolate Museum. It was amazing to see them make the chocolates by hand and to read the history of chocolate. And yes we got samples!

While on the streets we tried the Belgian waffles, the last specialty food we needed to taste before leaving. Maria had the plain and we had the one with chocolate and almonds. It was yummy!

Then we went to the Brupark area across town. We saw the Atomium. It is a giant molecule built for the 1958 World Expo. The height is 100 meters.

While there, we toured "Mini Europe". There is a display for all the countries in the EU and they have some of the famous monuments in miniature on display. It was cool to walk through Europe in about an hour.

Tomorrow is another day trip so stay tuned for a new city!

Brussels - Saturday

2007-04-07T18:18:00.000+02:00

We were up this morning around 6am. I grabbed a quick shower then cooked our breakfast. Just scrambled eggs and strawberries. Steve had read about lots of Belgian specialities he wanted to try during the day! He went to work figuring out yet another coffee pot.

After breakfast we headed to the train station to go to Antwerp. The station was beautiful and the scenery on the 40 minutes train trip was great.

When we arrived at Antwerp, we headed to a coffee shop for pastries and coffee. Steve had to get a picture of me and Maria with our much anticipated treats!

We wanted to see the zoo since it is the oldest in Europe. It was very compact, but you could tell that they have spent time and money on modernizing the exhibits and on the landscaping. Oh my goodness, the landscaping in the zoo was fabulous!

Last week Maria was re-reading Dr. Doolittle and the book mentioned the Okapi, at the Antwerp Zoo. She was determined to find this animal. Of course she did. The whole time I was saying, "it might not even be here anymore, it might not be a real animal". Here it is with it's sign!

We grabbed sandwiches for lunch and then went in search of the guild houses. Each guild, or craft, had it's own house in the square. To show the prestige of their craft they decorated them very fancy.

We took the train back to Brussels and went in search of chocolate and fries. Most people know about Belgian Chocolate so we bought some to try and some for gifts! The fries are in stalls on the street. We had read about how good they were and all the sauces you can get to dip them in. Steve had to try them with the garlic sauce. They were by far the BEST fries I have ever eaten!

We went back to the apartment to rest and end our day with a supper of tortellini, salami, and broccoli sauteed in olive oil, garlic, and basil. It was actually pretty tasty.

Brussels, Belgium

2007-04-06T20:49:00.000+02:00

We arrived in Brussels, Belgium tonight.

Everything is great! No problems at the airport or with the flight.

Found the hotel/apartment fine.

Went out already and bought groceries for breakfast and suppers through the weekend.

What we saw from the train on the way into the city from the airport was beautiful! Looks like a fun weekend in store.

The Romanian Easter Bunny?

2007-04-04T15:05:00.000+02:00

When Maria and I were on the tram today coming home from gymnastics, I noticed an older, slightly overweight man carrying a basket of eggs. I got tickled and whispered to Maria, "look that must be the Easter bunny in disguise". She just looked at me and shook her head.

Well then in true "Fowler fashion" I started singing the song that popped in my head...

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail

Hopping down the bunny trail

Hippety-hoppety Easter's on it's way.

That's when I got the, "Mamaaaa, hush" comment!

This was just the funniest thing to me today. Maria thinks I'm odd...but I think that comes with being an eight year old!

(In Romanian it's actually fairly common to see people carrying eggs in bags or baskets that they have bought at the farmer's market. The baskets are beautiful here and I'm already wondering how I can get mine home with the new airline restrictions.)

Maria's 8th Birthday

2007-04-01T16:55:00.000+02:00

We started the day by opening the last of the presents. They were matching t-shirts for her and her doll and two books. She's almost finished one of them! Yipee that means I can read it next.

Then we headed to church. It was a great sunny day so the kids were all running around outside after the service. From church, we headed straight to the Bucur's house. Today is also Florin's "name day" so they invited us to eat with them. The food was awesome. I love all the different ways that Romanians prepare vegetables. I seem to always just steam them, because it's quicker, but I think I'll start branching out some more. Mihaela had made the dish with leeks and tomatoes that was great. Of course there was a cabbage dish...there's always a cabbage dish here it seems. Potatoes too!

After leaving there we headed home and grabbed our rollerblades. Maria's birthday request was to rollerblade together. I managed to stay on my feet and out of the hospital so I would judge the afternoon a success!

We leave for Brussels on Friday so stay tuned for lots of posts this weekend!

Happy 8th Birthday Maria!

2007-03-31T19:17:00.000+02:00

We went to dinner tonight for Maria's 8th birthday. Her choice was a little place right down the road so we walked there and she ordered the chicken and mamaliga. I love that McDonalds isn't her first choice!

For some reason during the dinner we were talking about laughing and smiling and I said, "I think it makes you healthier so you live longer". Then I said, "Granny should live for a long time". To which Maria added, "she might live as long as Methuselah!". I just love the fact that she can add meaningful conversation!

She opened two presents today. One was a pair of pink tennis shoes for her doll and the other was an add-on for the computer game Zoo Tycoon. She loves running and managing a zoo.

Tomorrow we have church and then a get together at the Bucur's house. Tomorrow is Florin's "name day" and it's also Palm Sunday.

A Photo to Smile About

2007-03-31T11:28:00.000+02:00

I love to keep a photo on the desktop of my computer here, to remind me to smile and that life at "home" is good!

The photo below is my current favorite. For those of you that don't know, this is my Daddy and my dog, Jill. She is staying with them while we are here and she and Papa have become co-workers. He is semi-retired and so she helps him with all his projects around the house. She lays in the sunshine close by while he works! And she definitely takes all the snack breaks with him too!

In the photo Papa is checking on the neighbor's house to see if he knows the car in the yard. (He is our own personal neighborhood crime watch). Jill is looking too, but probably for a squirrel. I think it's hilarious that they are in the exact same position!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Let the Party Begin!

2007-03-30T12:31:00.000+02:00

Maria's 8th birthday is this Sunday. Yesterday we made cupcakes. They were much better than the ones we made last year!

We took some to gymnastics this morning and the girls and coaches sang the Romanian Happy Birthday song. They were going to sing in English, but we asked for their version. We can hear the English for all her other birthdays!

Farewell to Vienna

2007-03-27T18:52:00.000+02:00

We got an early start this morning to make up for missing the day on Saturday. We headed over to the Schönbrunn Palace for the Imperial tour. It is a beautiful palace. You can read about the history of the palace on the website. Maria thought it was cool to hear about people on the audio tour that we had studied in school. For example: JFK met with Kruschev at this palace and we had just read about them the past few weeks.

They were also having an Easter Market on the grounds so we walked through it and looked at all the neat stuff and bought a pastry to share.

Then back to the apartments to pick up our stuff and head to the airport. We arrived over 2 hours early. Steve had looked at the map of the airport online this morning and already knew which gate and everything. To quote him, "we aren't even going down the wrong hallway this time!"

We made our flight and it was a wonderfully short return trip to Bucharest. Flight time was 1 hour and 5 minutes. Sure beat the 24 hours to get there!

Baden for the Day

2007-03-26T18:39:00.000+02:00

We took the train to Baden today. This is a small town outside of Vienna. The scenery was very pretty on the ride out there.

We just strolled around the town. We went through a park and found a playground. We played for about 30 minutes or so.

Then we went to this neat little cafe for lunch. You can see the restaurant in the background of the lake. We tried two Vienna specialties, a chicken dish and a beef dish. Both were very good.

Then onto the big surprise. We headed toward the Romertherme. You can see the building in the background in this strategically placed photo.

When we started going in Maria asked what it was and I said something that Daddy wanted to check out. She said later that she thought it was an airplane museum or something.

We walked in and she said, "wow, it's a big swimming pool"

Me - "Should we go swimming?"
Her - "We don't have our suits!"

Me - "Oh, yes we do!"

Her - "Cool"

We bought tickets and headed to the unisex changing room. Yes, you read that right! They had these "changing closets" but everyone was in one locker room. You gotta love Europe...or run screaming to find something to gouge out your eyes with!

The pool was awesome!

Afterward, we headed back to the train station with a short stop in the Gruner Markt (Green Market) for a snack to eat on the train.

Quick stop in the grocery store for a roasted chicken and salad and we're back in the apartment.

Sunday in Vienna

2007-03-26T06:17:00.000+02:00

We headed out to the race around 9 am. Oh. My. Word. There were over 1000 people in this race! Steve started his semi-marathon mid-pack. It was mind boggling to watch the people, literally,stream past us. I asked Maria if she had ever read the phrase, "a sea of humanity"? She said yes, but she didn't really understand. I explained and then pointed at the race. She smiled - perfect understanding! We settled down to watch.

The course had a loop around a river that they had to do three times. So we were able to see Steve several times during the race from one of the bridges. Gabi and Florin counted and at the end of the first lap he was in 753rd place. Very good! He still looked great.

We went to get the kids numbers and find out where they needed to go. They were, of course, very excited.

Steve came in strong, but to quote him, "I left nothing out there". Meaning that he had plenty to finish strong, but didn't feel like he could have run any faster. He manged to trim a chunk of time off his last half-marathon. He finished 566 out of over 1500 runners.

Alexa had her race and did great! Maria and Florin were next up. They had to run twice the distance, since they were in the older age group. The girls ran first. Maria ran the first loop at a moderate pace and was around mid-pack. Then she opened it up and started passing girls. She finished in 8th place out of 21 girls her age. She was only 30 seconds behind the top finisher.

Florin ran a great race also. He ended up 5th out of his age group.

We went to eat lunch in the mall next to the race. It's a good thing too. Gabi noticed all these trophies set up and all the children runners gathering. He went down to watch and they called Alexa's name. She won her age group and got a HUGE 1st place trophy! Very exciting!

We went back to the apartment to drop off the trophy, medals, goodie bags, and stinky clothes then headed out to the zoo.

It was fantastic. We saw several animals we had never seen. The Vienna zoo does a great job of providing open areas for the animals close to their natural habitat and opportunities for people to see them up close. The kids had a fantastic time.

We headed back to the apartment. The Bucurs stayed in and napped. They nap later than we do. We headed out for dinner. We found a pizza place on the street and had some fantastic pizza while sitting on a bench in Vienna.

To quote Maria in our prayers from last night, "Thank you Lord for just a fun and fantastic day in Vienna".

The Bus Trip

2007-03-25T08:08:00.000+02:00

2:52 am – My “internal” alarm clock went off, before the alarm, so I got up to start the water so it could be getting hot and went to read my emails.

3:00 am – I got in the shower and Steve started the coffee for me.

3:45 am – The Bucurs called to tell us that they were leaving their house and we could head outside.

4:30 am – We reached the bus station and all 7 of us piled out of the car! This is us waiting in the bus station.

6:00 am – We left on the bus to start our journey and everyone but Steve conked out.

7:00 am – I woke up and we had finally made it out of Bucharest. The only problem is that the major east-west road through Romania is literally a two lane highway. Oh yeah and it’s curvy too.

10:00 am – We took our second potty break. We all went and paid the potty tax so we could use the potty. Daddy spotted a fornetti stand and went to get us some apple fornetti.

11:00 am – Florin threw up. I think he just ate too many sandwiches and it was extremely HOT on the bus. The air is on now and the heat is off. Nothing like a puking child to get a change in the temperature.

12:30 pm - 45 minute stop somewhere in Romania. Steve and Maria used some of the time to run around a little and stay loose for the big race.

2:00 pm - Everyone spent the afternoon napping, reading, talking, or aimlessly staring out the window. Steve taught all the kids how to play Yahtzee.

6:00 pm - We ate supper on the bus. Maria and I had tuna out of the can and Steve had the quick pasta and chicken I had cooked the night before.

8:30 pm - We brushed our teeth in a bus stop. Then we attempted to sleep. Poor Steve has zero "Fowler" in him, so he slept very little.

5:30 am - We arrived in Vienna. We took a train and then the tram to reach the apartment. The apartments are great and we are settled in. Breakfast is pastries from the little shop down the road and outstanding Viennese coffee.

We're on to the race and the zoo!

The Price of Ignorance

2007-03-23T19:43:00.000+02:00

Somehow we managed to sit in the airport for the two hours before our flight to Vienna and still MISS THE FLIGHT!

They say they announced it several times in English and Romanian but I have trouble believing that! We had 4 adults and 2 capable kids and no one heard anything?!? No way! Of course they didn't post the gate number on the screens since the airport was closing soon. What???? What about the other 5 flights?

When we asked 20 minutes before our flight they said the captain had already closed the door and the boarding was closed. We could see the plane out the window, still sitting right there. The head person finally (after some persuasive talk from Gabi) radioed the captain and asked if he would allow us to board late. We could still see the plane. He thought about it for about two minutes then said no. We could still see the plane. The lady turned and said, "I'm sorry, the captain said no he can not open the door. Feel free to book another flight with my associate at the desk" and she turned and walked away. We could still see the plane. Of course, you had to pay for the next flight! Did I mention that we could still see the plane?

So we are catching a few hours of sleep and then taking a bus to Vienna...for 24 hours! I am still in shock. This trip has no where to go... but up!

A First in Bucharest

2007-03-21T17:43:00.000+02:00

We saw a first tonight at Cora. An employee went up to a couple smoking, said something, pointed to the "no smoking" sign, and made them PUT OUT THEIR CIGARETTES!

We were stunned! When we first arrived, I wondered why they had the signs since obviously, NO ONE obeyed them. They are starting to enforce this law now.

Yippee for the Juttons!

Submission

2007-03-20T17:08:00.000+02:00

I feel at times that most Romanians see Americans as the "poster child" for equality. It is very hard for the women to understand that I willingly submit to Stephen as leader of our home. In fact, this is hard for some of my friends back home to understand too!

I have tried to explain it, but until the Lord opens your eyes to His plan, you're just running around blind living by man's law (which change frequently). Then Kim at Life in a Shoe pointed to an article written by Candace Cameron Bure that totally summed up my feelings and beliefs.

Some of the thoughts I loved:

"Marriage is an equal partnership in that BOTH roles, husband and wife, are equally important. But, they are not designed to be the SAME role."

"I help him because it pleases the Lord, and ultimately, THAT is who I care about most."

"Ultimately, my husband is responsible for all the decisions made in our home before God. He'll stand before God to give an account of our family. That's a weight lifted from my shoulders and yet such a hefty responsibility for my husband. I want to do everything possible to see us succeed together."

"I choose to allow my husband to lead because I want to do it God's way. I gave up "my rights" when I gave my life over to the Lord."

I don't think I can add more - God's Truth in His Word says it all. Very clearly.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew 11:15

An Afternoon at the Park

2007-03-17T17:12:00.000+02:00

Our weather was simply gorgeous today. We were actually warmer than Simpsonville but the breeze here makes it feel cooler.

Since we were sitting around with no plans, we decided to head to a couple of the surrounding parks. Lots of fun! We hope all of you enjoyed your Saturday too.

Can You Say Yummy?

2007-03-17T11:25:00.000+02:00

We can...we made homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

My home school e-loop posted about a baking day to make cinnamon rolls. I won't call any names..ahem...Katrina...but that got me to craving cinnamon rolls.

I have always just bought the "canned stuff" in the states. Probably because that's what I had first and I tend to be a creature of habit. They don't have the "canned stuff" here. So enter my favorite website...http://allrecipes.com/...you can find pretty much anything here if you look long enough.

I found my recipe. The only ingredient I wasn't sure about was the yeast. So I headed to Mega Image to see what I could figure out. I found what I thought was yeast and after a long, difficult discussion with one of the ladies there, I bought it. I still wasn't convinced it was yeast, mainly because the lady said it wasn't. I've learned to trust my gut here though!

Back at the apartment I ended up in the elevator with a college age lady and so I asked her if she spoke English, she did, and so I asked her if this was yeast. She said yes it was and it makes the bread dough rise. Perfect!

So that evening while Steve was getting his massage, Maria and I quickly mixed up fresh bread and made it into cinnamon rolls. She did all the inside yummy stuff and I did the bready part! Then we hid them in the fridge to rise overnight.

This morning when he left to run we pulled them out to finish rising in the sunshine pouring in the windows and mixed up a quick cream cheese frosting for the top.

I loved the look on Steve's face as he walked in from his run.

Steve: (stopping suddenly inside the door) What's that smell? (big grin and a gleam in his eye)
Maria: Cinnamon rolls, we wanted to surprise you.
Steve: Where did you guys find cinnamon rolls?
Dana: I made them, from scratch, like with yeast and stuff.
Steve: No way! You are out of control! (this is a major compliment from him by the way)

They were yummy too!

The Dry Run

2007-03-16T15:54:00.000+02:00

Next Friday we are heading to Vienna, Austria to cheer for Daddy as he runs his second semi-marathon. It doesn't make much sense for him to drive home, pick us up, and then drive all the way back to the same airport he works at. That would take about three hours of vacation time and we just hate to waste it doing something like driving around Bucharest.

So Maria and I will take the bus to the airport next week and just meet him there. We wanted to time it so today was our "dry run". Maria didn't have gymnastics since the Romanian girls are all getting their team physicals. So after school and a quick lunch we headed to the bus.

We literally rode, on the bus, in the same seats, for 2 hours! Thank goodness next week we only have to ride to the airport and not home too.

Spring has Sprung!

2007-03-14T13:26:00.000+02:00

It is Spring here in Bucharest! Yeah!!! I am presenting a series of pictures that prove Spring has arrived in Romania:

All the flowers and trees are blooming and budding. We've been watching avidly on our morning walks to gymnastics.

The animals are out and about. The sparrows are working and singing away in the bushes and the Romanian ladybugs are visible again. Maria is holding one on her pointer finger.

The tree trunks are getting another coat of white stuff. As best we figured out last year, it is a lime based mix that prevents bugs and small shoots at the base of the trees.

And everyone is beating out their rugs on the rug posts between all the blocks.

And the Claritin is setting on my kitchen counter so I won't forget to take it! Praise the Lord they sell it here too.

I hope it's Spring wherever you are. Sorry Grampa and Gramma that spring comes to Romania before upstate NY!

A Comedy of Errors

2007-03-13T11:40:00.000+02:00

Our trip home from gymnastics this morning was just a comedy of errors. We had taken the 101 bus. It has been going down our street this year since they are doing construction that had changed it's route. Today we were happily riding along and discussing the change in Maria's rope routine. Then we noticed that we weren't in the left hand lane to turn.

Quick - the route changed again! We jumped up to get our stuff together so we could get off. Of course, I got tickled and started laughing then the old man next to us kept staring at us which made me laugh even more. You know that Fowler thing!

After we got off we had to cross the major intersection...twice... since we were diagonally across from where we needed to be. So we decided to reward ourselves with fornetti for the walk home (basically three bus stops of walking).

We got in line and I rehearsed in my mind what to say. Basically I wanted to order three lei worth of apple so there would be some left for Steve tonight. I got to the front and said, "treizeci mie mere". The lady looked at me and said, "a;lkdjf sflsajf mere?" I only got the mere at the end so I said "da" thinking that she was just asking if I wanted apple. Well she started scooping apple fornetti into this bag and when she finished I handed her my three lei and she shook her head and said the price again. This time I caught the "cinci" at the beginning and realized I owed her 5 lei. So I handed her two more. Then she shook her head again and said what sounded like "doi" which is 2, so I thought I owed her 20 bani (or cents). I handed her a 50 bani and then it clicked that the price had come to 5,90 lei. So I gave her another lei and she handed me back my coin and then my change.

Needless to say there was PLENTY left over for Daddy! We may be eating fornetti for days.

Oh well, it gave us something to laugh about and discuss on the walk home in the sunshine.

Great Sunday

2007-03-11T13:13:00.000+02:00

We took Florin and Alexa to church with us this morning. They have only been to an Orthodox Church here so it was quite a change for them.

Then we had a snack at McDonald's. It was fun to watch the lady's face as we tried to order. Alexa speaks pretty much no English, Florin and Maria speak the second language about 25% correctly, Stephen speaks Romanian about 75%, and I speak it about 10%. Although I speak "mamaian" very well. When I divided the kids in the back seat, my message was clearly understood by all!

Then they played in Maria's room with a light bright. It is so fun to hear their "Romaglish" as they communicated and played using both languages...sometimes in the same sentence. I loved it! They had already used the play-doh. They had a great time playing together.

This afternoon we headed over to the Bucurs for a cookout. Mihaela's best friend, Lillian, and her husband were there as well as another friend, Alex. Kashim, Lillian's hubbie, is from Turkey and did all the grilling. It was outstanding. He started with a ton of vegetables. We had peppers, tomatoes, onions, whole bulbs of garlic, and zucchini.

Then came the meats. There was beef and lamb in chunks. Also he managed to do ground meat on kabobs. These were cooked with eggplant. They were very good. To quote Gabi, "I like flesh!"

Then we wrapped them in bread. Yummy! Miheala had also made a potato dish with marinaded veggies that was outstanding. I had made homemade cookies - this is quite a novelty here!

It was quite an international gathering. Alex is from Belgium so most of the conversation was in English since that was the only language that all of us spoke!

I'm always "goofy-sided"

2007-03-11T08:43:00.000+02:00

They do that double cheek kiss thing here and I always go to the wrong side. Always. I am so paranoid about it now that my heart beats faster when I know it's coming. I've bumped lips with too many people on accident!

I look to the wrong side EVERY time....seriously...every time. I think in the states when someone is going to kiss me on the cheek I look that way but here I need to look the other way first. Old habits die hard.

Maria has adapted to this smoothly and can now do the kissy thing like a pro. Steve and I look like...well...Americans!

This past Thursday was "ladies day". Sorta like Mother's day but for all ladies. We were so proud of ourselves because we had chocolates for the ladies that work with Steve and for the gymnastics coaches. Steve came home saying that he had to do the kissy thing with about half of them and he felt goofy.

I, of course, had gone "goofy-sided" and bumped lips with one of the coaches. I should just stick to hugs they are much easier!

So what in the world do you DO in Romania?

2007-03-08T06:53:00.000+02:00

I think Romania sounds very foreign and isolated for most of us Americans so I'll give you an idea of what we do during the week here:

Monday:
6:45am - We're up and eating breakfast
7:15am - Out the door to catch the bus to gymnastics
8:00am - Gymnastics for Maria, I usually take the bus to Auchon to buy produce
10:30am - Out of gymnastics and on our way home
11:00am - Bible study then lunch
11:30am - School work
2:30pm - Finished with school, free time, talk to the Granny, clean house etc.
4:00pm - Steve home from work, he usually runs before supper
6:00pm - Language lessons with the Bucurs (Only on Mondays)

The only differences in the week are: I may stay at gymnastics and read if the weather is REALLY yucky or go to pay bills or pick up packages.

On Wednesdays, Steve meets a Missionary from our church and they run together at a nearby park.

On Thursday evenings Steve and Maria meet the Bucurs at the skating rink for the free skate.

On Saturdays we go to Selgross in the car and buy the "big" groceries. We also have a massage therapist come to the house. Hey, at $10 for two hours of massage in our own home...who could resist?!? That we play a rousing game of Monopoly, European Landmark Edition.

On Sundays we have church, usually out for lunch, and then Steve and Maria go for a run.

I hope this gave you a brief glimpse of our life here. Any questions?

Top Ten Places we have been to this past year.

2007-03-06T06:47:00.000+02:00

Here is the top 10 list of places we were able to visit this past year. I LOVE the low cost airlines here! Our most expense flight was from SC to NY to visit the grandparents...well not counting the overseas flights!

1 - Barcelona, Spain
2 - Cairo, Egypt
3 - Venice, Italy
4 - Pompeii, Italy
5 - Rome, Italy
6 - Malta
7 - Paris, France
8 - Villefranche, France
9 - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
10 - Florence, Italy

For any of you who are new readers, and would like to see some of the places we have been able to visit, just click on the city name above and it should take you to the first entry for that trip.

Or you can search within this blog by using the search function at the top of the page.

Happy travels!

Where I'm from...

2007-03-04T08:31:00.000+02:00

I am from a road that bears my name, from walks to the branch for the sunrise, and across the pasture to my Grandparents' house.
I am from the old home place, already full of memories and love when my parents moved in.
I am from the fresh air, the silence of open land.
I am from opening at least one present on Christmas Eve (usually more) and long toes, from Goodwin and Fowler and knowing the cars we met in the road.
I am from the opinionated (that’s not always negative) and determined.
From "don’t read while you’re walking" and "there’s nothing in the dark that isn’t there in the light".
I am from Southern Baptist through and through. Of old time hymns and having every important memory in one church. Births, baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
I am from the South, fresh ground sausage and milk straight from Betty cow strained through a cloth diaper.
From the "my Papa made a watermill and powered their house himself", the Fowler Quartet and Doodle’s Store, and the "so your Grandpa is Andy – I know him".
I am from a people that knew where they had been and where they were going. A family that welcomes yet another member until we reach almost 50 in the "immediate" family.
I am from a road that bears my name. Even though my feet have left from time to time, my heart never will.

No, I didn't really write this - it was a template from somewhere else and you had to fill in your own memories. I was fun to do though!

If you don't know where you were or where you are, how will you know where you're going?

First of March Cup

2007-03-02T18:16:00.000+02:00

We had a competition at our gym today. It was called the First of March Cup after the holiday yesterday. No scores were given but the girls did their routines in their "cool" leotards. The National Team even competed too!

This is Maria and Coach Mihaela waiting for her turn to do floor. She did great! She missed one of the skills they added this week but she handled it perfectly.

This is the younger girls sitting and watching the rest of the competition. It's awesome to watch the top level gymnasts right there three foot away. Even warming up on the same floor as the National Team is an experience in itself. I don't have any of the pictures from the routines. I did video though - I heard that cheer Granny!

This is the whole team that competed today. This is as good as I could get them to smile. For some reason when they pose with the whole group they don't like to smile!

Good luck to our teammates in the states as they travel and compete this weekend too!

We got it - sorta!

2007-03-01T13:28:00.000+02:00

Well today is the first of March and Martisor in Romania. We managed to figure out that there was a holiday coming up and even bought the little "good luck" tokens.

This morning when we walked into the locker room all the girls starting giving Maria more good luck tokens. I guess all the girls exchange them today too. So we had none to exchange but they were excited that we had one for ourselves anyway. I told one of the older girls that they should have told us that we would be exchanging the tokens so we could have bought some too. She said it is ok you didn't know!

Maria was very happy to be included in all the excitement. She got another seven little tokens on the red and white ribbons. They are great about including us in their fun here!

Don't forget about the Blog party starting tomorrow! I have no idea what it will be like since I've never participated in one before.

Martisor

2007-02-28T13:01:00.000+02:00

We noticed that this time last year, all these tables were set up on the street corners and they were selling these little trinket type things. We didn't really understand and then they disappeared.

Well, they're back! So I set out to figure it out this year. It started when Maria's competition was called the First of March Cup and it is to be held on the second. Sounded fishy to me so I asked and yes March 1st is a holiday. Below is the official entry I found on the Internet.

The first day of March is the celebration of MARTISOR (mar-tsi-shor), a day when gifts of small objects--plants, shells, flowers, animals, snowmen or tools--as well as a red and white ribbon symbolizing life and purity--are given to young girls and women. The little gift brings good luck, it is said, during the month of March and throughout the year ahead. Overall, Martisor signifies the end of winter and the arrival of spring.

Romanians are very big on "luck". Now I don't really do luck, but the red and white reminds me of Jesus' sinless life and His blood that covers my sin. Sounds much better to me!

Odds and Ends

2007-02-27T13:54:00.000+02:00

I finished my first toe shoe! It looks very close to Mihaela's. Mine is on the left of the picture and hers is on the right:

It's a little small because it's from different thread but I think I know how to make the next one fit better! Any of you Rhythmic Mamas that want to learn, I'll be glad to help at Nationals. I figure we'll be sitting in the stands for a while and might as well multi-task! For those that want to learn you will need a #5 crochet hook and thread from Hancocks (back of the store on a spool No. 10 white or ecru). You can go to this website and learn the chain stitch, single crochet, and double crochet. Then we can quickly "whip" up some shoes! The hardest part for me was holding the thread.

Maria has been enjoying a computer game that she purchased with her own money. It is called Roller Coaster Tycoon. It's a strategy game where you build and manage your own amusement park. She had been playing Civilization IV but that had gotten old and no one squeals with excitement on it! Ha ha!

Isus, Tu Esti Sfant!

2007-02-25T13:08:00.000+02:00

Isus, Tu esti sfant! Jesus, You are holy!

"Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!"
Revelation 4:8

I do not know what language the four living creatures are proclaiming it in but I know that we proclaimed it in Romanian and English this morning. I will truly miss singing and worshipping in dual languages once we return to the states.

One of the missionaries from our church was here on furlough from Tibet. He gave a presentation this morning on his work there. It was very interesting. It amazes me that we have 5 missionaries from our church here. We are a small group but these people really catch the fire of the Lord and desire to help in spreading it.

We also travelled to church in a light snow! Isn't that just so...well...Romanian.

And once again I proclaim, "Isus, Tu esti sfant!"

Ice Skating

2007-02-23T07:10:00.000+02:00

Maria convinced me to come freeze in the ice rink again so I could see how much she had improved. And she was right! After a couple of "warm up" laps holding Daddy's hand she was on her own. And she is flying now.

I think Stephen has the most fun chasing Florin around and playing tag. And he is working diligently on a pivot on the ice. I'm pretty sure he will either master it or we will get to post a blog entry on the ER in a Romanian hospital!

Here are some pictures:

This one is of Stephen and Florin playing tag. Stephen is the one in the middle facing the "wrong" way. Florin is directly behind him. Maria is passing them in the pink jacket.

This ones shows Maria as she flew past me. She's a little blurry. It's getting harder to catch her in motion!

Miheala and Alexa. The Mothers hung out on the edge and chatted!

The kids - do they look like they're having fun?

The Daddies - do they look like they are breathing heavy? (They were, they had been racing with the kids. They're both in good shape but neither is a "skater". Gabi plays soccer and Steve is a runner!)

A New Skill

2007-02-21T16:08:00.000+02:00

Since Maria has fallen in love with the crocheted Romanian toe shoes, guess who is learning to crochet? You got it...the Mama!

I took a new pair to Grandmother June when we were home at Christmas and she figured out how to make them. She whipped out about 5 or 6 pairs while we were there. But since Maria goes through about a pair every two weeks we'll be needing some more. So I bought the big yellow book, "Crocheting for Dummies" and two hooks and the thread - that was step one. Otherwise known as the "easy" step!

Grandmother June taught me the basics and I left for Romania with my supplies.

I ordered four more pairs from Mihaela, the cleaning lady, at the gym. (Lots of Mihaelas here!) I asked her if she could teach me to make them. She said, "Sure, it is easy". I had my second lesson today. It is not so easy. My fingers feel very clumsy and she keeps telling me to relax and go "easier". I finally got the idea and left the gym with the tip of a shoe in progress.

While we were standing there in the hall of the gym and working and laughing and trying to find the words to communicate I asked her if this time last year she thought she would be teaching a crazy American Mama to crochet and she said, "no...did you think it?" I said, "no, isn't life fun?!?" (And it is...isn't it? After living across the pasture from a woman who knows how to crochet, and would have been willing to teach me in any of the past 34 years, I had to come all the way to Romania to learn. Shows you what we will do for our children doesn't it?)

I came home and after we got school finished for the day I worked again and got about a third of the shoe finished. I know there are mistakes in it but it looks VERY close to Mihaela's work. I'll take it for her to see tomorrow during practice. I still have to focus very closely but it's getting easier and I'm starting to think that I can actually learn how to do this. Maybe Maria won't have to switch back to the hot, stinky leather toe shoes when we leave Romania.

I Have Lurkers!

2007-02-19T20:10:00.000+02:00

I installed a "site meter" to my blog...and yes I installed it and then helped Stephen install one on his blog!

The next morning I eagerly clicked on my site meter button to see who had logged onto my blog. I expected to see about 3 or 4 addresses in SC and maybe 1 or 2 in NY...if I was lucky.

WRONG!!!

I have someone in Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Connecticut, somewhere in the middle of the states, lots in NC, and two in other towns in Romania reading my blog - regularly.

Now there were several that I think I can guess on...but...who are you people? Do I know you? Do you know me? And how come the only comments that are ever posted are from Granny and Allison?

So here is my request for the week: Please post a comment. I am "calling out" the lurkers. I want just one comment, cluing me in to who you are. It's ok if we don't know each other. I read several blogs of people I have NEVER met for some unknown reason. (Now I'm thinking they probably wonder who in the world knows them in Romania - Ha ha) Some of them have called me out and I posted a brief note stating who I am. Please do me the same courtesy.

Please.

Even if you read this blog simply because you can't believe a family would, willingly, pack up and move to Romania for a year...well two years but who's counting! Ok, Granny is counting.

Please.

I'm waiting... Come on you can do it!

Please?

Did I mention that everyone who has posted has received a handmade glass ornament from the glass factory in Romania?

Please....

DISCLAIMER: Ok, Stephen "wigged" out when he read about the ornaments! He is concerned that this will make it to the internet at large and we will have to buy over 300 ornaments or something. I don't think it's possible but....we have a limit on the ornaments. Maybe a postcard would be the second award or an email from Romania. Or just a smile on my face as I read your comment!

End of the Anniversary Re-cap

2007-02-18T17:57:00.000+02:00

We went to church this morning and had a good time of worship and fellowship. After church, Stephen took us to the good swarma place. Maria had KFC and Stephen and I got swarmas. Then we headed home with full bellies and a bag of leftovers.

The adults took naps (Maria quit napping around age 2 and hasn't looked back since!) and then Stephen went out and ran a mile for every year of marriage. (He might need to rethink this celebration style in another 12 years but we'll see!) Maria and I baked a pumpkin pie. I managed to squeeze in the luggage from our Christmas trip to the states: a pie plate, two crust mixes, and the makings for two pumpkin pies! Yummy!

If you look down on the left hand side you'll see my Anniversary present. Steve found me a "weather pixie". She will evidently dress for the weather conditions in Bucharest. So when you look at her you'll have some idea of what I look like standing at the bus stop each day! The temperature is listed there, along with the wind speed (which is a critical factor in determining what to wear each day).

Only a piece of pie for my night snack and then bedtime! A calm and relaxing anniversary. Just what I wanted!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2007-02-18T07:08:00.000+02:00

We are celebrating 12 years of marriage today. This is quite a long time by "modern" standards. I loved the man Stephen was 12 years ago, I love the man he is today, and by God's grace I will love the man he is going to be in another 12 years.

Here are 12 reasons I love him:

1 - I love him because I am commanded in Scripture to do so. Do I even need to go further? I don't...but I will!

2 - I love that he isn't afraid to change his opinion on things. Not because his view isn't popular but because he has studied and meditated on it and the Lord has opened his eyes.

3 - I love that he still gets really excited about a good meal. He will eat ANYTHING I prepare and tell me truthfully if he likes it or not.

4 - I love his physical body. Yep, 35 years old and he is in outstanding shape!

5 - I love that he isn't bashful about being first in line to fix his plate or eating the last bite of a dish. He was the first person to "line-up" in front of Will at our family gatherings. And don't you just hate it when that last piece of something is wasted because everyone is afraid to be "the one" that ate it!

6 - I love that he is willing to live next door to my parents. Not that they're not the coolest but my ENTIRE family lives within about 15 miles of us. Over 50 people total...not counting distant relatives!

7 - I adore the fact that he makes my coffee each morning even though he waits until he gets to work to drink his. There's nothing like being pampered in the morning.

8 - I love that he laughs and plays with Maria. He can be extremely goofy when playing with his little girl.

9 - I love that he has never once called our household income, "his money". Once we decided that I would stay home he has never brought up the income I would have been making if I had remained an engineer.

10 - He's not afraid to laugh at me or himself. Really, don't we ALL just take things a little TOO seriously?!?

11 - He loves to travel and find the bargains, which enables us to travel MORE!

12 - He appreciates my role in the family and allows me to live out my responsibility as helpmeet with joy and pleasure!

Happy Anniversary Honey! I love you and I'm looking forward to our big date after church at the cool swarma place. As we said last night, it's not like we haven't done LOTS of cool stuff this year!

Gymnastics

2007-02-16T19:52:00.000+02:00

Since we have come through the valley, I'm ready to tell you about our week at gymnastics!

It all started on Tuesday. We needed to add another toss in Maria's rope routine. I emailed the coach's daughter (who speaks fluent English) so there wouldn't be a confusion in the translation. So during the practice on Tuesday, they reworked the ENTIRE rope routine. I had left the gym to go home and shower. When I came back in one of the Romanian girls came to get me and ask me to "come please". I looked at her and asked, "me???". She smiled and nodded. You see the parents aren't allowed in the gym. The coaches don't like us to even LOOK in the glass door! So I followed the gymnast wondering what in the world was going on.

As I walked into the gym there stood Maria on the floor with her rope, barely holding on to her composure. I looked at the coaches and they motioned for me to JOIN THEM on the FLOOR! I immediately kicked off my shoes and went to them. I avoided looking at Maria (you know that makes things worse sometimes). They wanted to show me the changes they had made. Several of them Maria had already gotten and I was VERY impressed to say the least. A few they wanted us to work on at home. One of the skills I didn't know how to do so I took the other gymnast's rope to give it a try. HA HA!!! It required me to do a cat leap (small jump) over the backward turn of the rope while actually turning my body too. Yeah right! I tried and it kept getting caught on my last foot coming over. The coach started yelling at ME, "sus!", which means "up!". I tried it about three times with her yelling louder at each attempt. After the third time I just cracked up. I mean I had three things going against me:

1 - The rope was the right length for a gymnast 4' 10", I'm 5'5".
2 - I had on my "European" jeans (read straight leg, no extra room!) that I found at Goodwill.
3 - I am 34 years old and it has been almost 20 years since I did Rhythmic Gymnastics.

When I stopped laughing, I looked at the coach and said, "Nu sus!" - "No up!" She just smiled and the other gymnasts laughed, although I think they were impressed that I tried. It was discussed in the locker room for two days after that.

Needless to say Maria and I went home and worked for two hours after school and she got all the skills. I even got the cat leap thingy twice!

The next day, Wednesday, they took on the ribbon routine. And made LOTS of changes. Maria could do all but one of the changes right away but she was coming off a hard day so Wednesday was hard too. And again I was out in the gym.

Thursday was just minor tweaking but Maria was tired of all the changes and I was asked to the gym yet again. She did both routines to music with only minor mistakes. The coaches were pleased but of course Maria thought they were just being nice. She is a perfectionist, and she was right in the fact that they weren't perfect...YET!

Today was great. Her rope routine is outstanding. Very exciting to watch and she is already doing it well. The ribbon is beautiful and she is already "fine-tuning" it. The coaches seemed pleased with the routines and Maria got through the practice without any "extra" emotions.

I was the proudest of her, not because she got the skills, but because she forced herself to endure some VERY hard practices working on skills that she couldn't do at first. This is very hard for a perfectionist. She was also up at 6:45am each morning and getting ready to return to the gym without griping or worrying or anything. My little girl is growing up!

Awww, the humanity!

2007-02-15T18:05:00.000+02:00

First, let me preface this by telling you a few things about me or at least reminding you if you already know them!

1 - I am an only child.
2 - I grew up on a farm with lots of land space.
3 - I was the only child on our road until 5th grade.
4 - I liked the above three things about my life!

Now, picture me, here in Bucharest. First it is a very populated large city. Second, this culture doesn't require much "personal" space.

In the morning as I wash my face I can hear our next door neighbor hacking up his "old man stuff" out of his throat. I can hear our other neighbor in the kitchen when she washes her dishes. We can hear the squeaky door of the apartment above us. I can hear the toilet water go down the wall from the floors above us. You get the idea right? So let's just say I NEVER really feel alone.

Anyway, all this is common but this week it just really bugged me. Yesterday, we got on the bus to go to gymnastics. At the first stop this woman got on and she must have run to catch it. She ends up standing facing my side while I was seated. And she literally, BREATHED DOWN MY NECK, for the rest of the ride. I not a "germ-a-phobe" but the fact that I could feel her hot breath going down my collar drove me insane!

Then on the tram it was tight to say the least. By the time we got to our stop I could feel, no joke, 5 people touching me. Granted, one was Maria but then there was a person on each side bumping me and someone behind me with his belly pressed into my back. Then an arm was over me head holding the pole and his elbow kept tapping my head. It was simply too...much...TOUCHING!

And to top off the morning as we rounded the corner into the gym driveway there was a man turned 90 degrees to the sidewalk tinkling! Here as long as the "anatomy" is hidden then it is irrelevant that EVERYONE knows you are standing there tinkling. Then he finishes and turns just as we pass him - literally three feet away. What am I supposed to do? Politely look away? Wrinkle up my nose to his face (which is what I was doing)? Or say Buna Dimineata (Good Morning)? My Southern hospitality won out and I wished the man Good Morning. He responded with the Romanian greeting for ladies which translates, "I kiss the hand". I was thinking you're getting nowhere close to my hands - I KNOW where yours have been!

So tonight I opted out of the skating rink to spend a few quiet moments alone in the apartment. I can still hear the neighbors and the traffic outside but at least I can't see them and more importantly...they can't touch me!

We also had some interesting days at gymnastics this week. I'll try to post about that this weekend. Let's just say I was even on the floor more than once this week and the coaches were actually yelling at ME!

A Week of Ups and Downs

2007-02-03T08:17:00.000+02:00

Another week has passed here in Romania. It has been an odd week of ups and downs. But I guess they're all like that! Since some of you seem to like to hear the "daily grind" stuff I'll give you a recap of 5 lows, then 10 highs. You know it's best to be positive!

Lows:
1 - Maria came down with some sort of virus/cold thing and napped on the sofa all day Friday. No eating, no energy.
2 - I saved the vacuuming and mopping to do on Friday then didn't because Maria was napping all day!
3 - I had to wear my silk long johns for the first time this week as we saw snow two days.
4 - I haven't been able to find icons for the homeschool website I'm "mistressing" from here.
5 - Mihaela's brother has inoperable cancer and needs treatment in the US and they are having trouble getting him into the program.

Highs:
1 - I made TWO homemade cheesecakes and they were outstanding! Even the Bucurs liked them. The kids too!
2 - I didn't fall on the icy sidewalks going to gymnastics on Tuesday. I also had remembered to bring the silk long johns!
3 - Maria is feeling better and is at least eating a little and reading on the sofa now instead of napping!
4 - I got all the coats washed since we were "home bound" all day Friday.
5 - Stephen posted his funniest blog yet. Check it out here.
6 - The website went "live" on Thursday and people seem to be enjoying our hard work. You can check out the visitor's page at http://www.familytouch.org/.
7 - Aurelia is coming today, to the apartment, to give us massages. Thanks honey!!
8 - We'll get to go to church tomorrow since Maria is on the mend and hasn't been sick to her stomach since Friday morning.
9 - Steve's parents have quit smoking. This is something I have prayed for them for years. We want them to be around for a LONG time. Maria is delighted! Well actually all of us are delighted. Keep at it Gramma and Grampa!
10 - My Lord Provides all my needs. I've felt a little "between" things in my Bible study, and low and behold, I got an email this morning that a friend from home is starting an online Bible study. I already have my first Assignment! Thanks Maggie for letting the Lord minister to me, through you!

I am OLD!

2007-01-28T18:03:00.000+02:00

I awoke at about 4am and literally couldn't move in bed! I had this massive, painful catch in my upper back. I made it through the rest of the night and then took a hot shower. Thankfully we actually had hot water this morning!

We went to church and out to eat Chinese for lunch. Then I rested and Maria and Stephen went ice skating.

When they asked what was for supper I told them we were planning on having pancakes and sausage, but I just couldn't stand and mix and flip and all. So they decided to cook.

While Stephen was in the shower, he had run 7 miles after ice skating, Maria decided to get all the ingredients out. Then she started measuring. One thing led to another and by the time Stephen got to the kitchen Maria had everything ready except for lighting the stove. (Our stove is a little scary here!)

They sounded so happy in there together I had to sneak in for some pictures!

So even though I feel very old since I can't MOVE, at least I'm being served like a queen.

Ha ha!

Dana and Maria's day "on the town"

2007-01-26T16:47:00.000+02:00

We needed a day off of gymnastics so when Maria slept past 6:45am I decided that today was the day!

After a leisurely breakfast, we got our school work done and got ready to "go to town". This is what we say in the states. Of course here, we actually live "in town", but you know what we mean!

We walked to the metro and bought a new pass then boarded the metro to go to Cora. Alexa had a cool doll house, made from a book so it folds up, in language lessons last night. Maria and I loved it and since it is actually portable, we can bring it home too! We decided to try and find it at Cora.

We had success! Then we ate at KFC - I told you it was a big day on the town.

We left from there to take the Metro back to Titan Park and try out the new outdoor ice rink. We have tried three different days this week. One day we were late and couldn't rent skates, the next try was after a day of rain and they were still clearing the water off the rink. Today we got Maria some skates and hit the ice. It was cold and damp and for some reason people kept wanting to give Maria pointers and asking if I wanted her to have lessons.

It drove her crazy! Maria likes to be left alone when trying something new and this wasn't working. After 45 minutes we called it quits and headed for the apartment.

We set up the doll house and cut out all the pieces to make the furniture. It is so cute!

Then we made brownies. Not a bad day at all!

Ice Skating

2007-01-21T17:11:00.000+02:00

Maria and I arrived back in Romania on Thursday. We went to gymnastics on Friday morning since we had equipment with us and presents. It was so much fun to see the girls get their equipment they had been waiting on!

This morning we went to church and turned in over $1600 USD to the Pastors. They were so excited and amazed. Thank you again for making this possible.

This afternoon we went, with the Bucur family, ice skating. There is a public skate at the local hockey rink and we met Gabi, Florin, and Alexa there. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a match to finish and then we were in. It only took me two tries to find Maria's size in the European numbers - not bad! They all had a ball - I was cold since I wasn't skating. By the end of the two hours Maria was actually getting a little comfortable on the skates. We'll probably go again.

Thank you

2007-01-14T23:55:00.000+02:00

Thank you so much for your loving support of our family and our church in Bucharest, Romania. You have helped to raise over $1500 for Bibles in the Romanian language. There have been days this past year when we felt very alone living in Romania, but through your prayers, the Lord always strengthened us. You will always have a special place in our hearts!
Thank you again for allowing the Lord to work through you to reach Romania,
The Jutton Family

Maria and I will be reuniting with Daddy on Thursday afternoon this week! We still have two active "to do" lists on the kitchen counter but they are rapidly dwindling down. We are all ready to be together again. Maria and I will be in Romania until May 31st, when we will take our summer trip to the states. We will be meeting Daddy in NY again to visit with that side of our family during the summer.

More from Romania in the weeks to come! Thank you for all your prayers and support during this past year and for the assurances that they will continue on our behalf. We are all very grateful for our friends and family here in the US.

Ooops!, The New "Last Post" of 2006

2007-01-07T16:16:00.000+02:00

Due to the chaos of the last couple of weeks alone here in 2006, I actually failed to blog a really fun event. I was invited by a couple of the young guys at our church for a Sunday afternoon game of Risk.

Risk in Romania

If you haven't lived in a bubble for the last 50 years, you should know that Risk, "The classic Game of Global Domination", is probably the most famous strategy board game ever.
The players from left to right were Marian, Dan, and Jamie. Marian and Dan both work full time in ministry at our Romanian church, Cavalry Chapel. They are Romanians and grew up together in an orphanage. Among other things, both of them basically set up and break down the equipment for Sunday services at the rented building each week. Jamie is one of the assistant pastors and he is from the USA.

We played a "quick" game first which was won by Marian. The second game we played was the typically LONG and sometimes "heated" global domination version. It was won by me after about 3 hours. The game was decided when Dan had a series of unbelievably bad rolls of the dice attacking me. With his army depleted, this gave me a golden opportunity to ruthlessly eliminate Dan from the game and acquire a full set of risk cards (the keys to victory).

Apparently, my viscous play didn't make anybody really mad (this may be a first for me), and the guys have invited me to go skiing this Saturday. Stay tuned! When my chance of injury increases, so does the chance for a good blog post.