Introducing...

Lydia Rose Day

8 lb.s 11 oz. 22 inches long

Born at 7:40 this morning in Ukraine

Congratulations to my sister, brother-in-law, and niece, Melissa, on the birth of another precious little girl!

A Baptism

This past Sunday, Nathan administered his first baptism as pastor!  One of the deacons of the church had been baptized as a child but did not truly become a Christian until later in his adult years.  He wanted to be baptized again as a testimony of public confession to his allegiance to Jesus Christ and a sign of his obedience to Him.  It was an exciting day for my husband and this brother in the church!

Potato Pancakes

I made these potato pancakes for dinner (also called potato latkes) and they were SO good!!!  Just thought I'd pass the recipe along! :)

Both applesauce or sour cream make for great toppings...we tried them both (on separate pancakes, of course) and found that applesauce gives more of a breakfast taste whereas sour cream gives a more dinner-ish flavor.  Either one is a winner!

Here's What's Cookin'!

On Saturday, Nathan and I walked a couple blocks to our local farmer's market to buy produce.  At one of the vendor's we were given this giant zucchini squash for free!

I don't think I've ever seen a zucchini this big!

Considering that I have a husband who has a sweet tooth like no other, the best use for this giant squash was zucchini bread, of course!

Zucchini Bread

(originally found online here)

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (I used half wheat and half white)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar (I used half brown and half turbinado, but any kind would work)

3 tsp. vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.

Mix together dry ingredients on top of wet and stir to combine.

Add grated zucchini and mix well.

Pour batter into 2 greased bread pans.

Bake for 40-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Yummy!!!

And while we're on the subject of food, I've come across several delicious dinner recipes lately that I thought I would pass on.  Just click on the links for the recipes!

Crumb Coated Red Snapper

Twice Baked Potatoes

(Katrina's note: I like these better without the nutmeg, and we have yet to try them with scallions/green onions, so we can attest to the fact that these are just as good without them.)

The Olive Garden's Tuscan Garlic Chicken

(Katrina's Note: I made this recipe with green bell peppers instead of red, since that is what I had on hand, and I omitted the spinach. We both really liked it!  Thanks, Katelin, for passing the recipe along!)

Sightseeing and Mountain Climbing

On Tuesday morning, we took Rachel and Leah out to breakfast at a quaint little cafe near the Taos plaza where two of our church members work.  They make the most delicious banana bread French toast! :)

All around the cafe are cute little shops.  The Moby Dickens bookstore just got bought by a new family in town who have also started coming to our church!  We are looking forward to getting to know them better.

More shops.

I always get a kick out of this sculpture in the town square!

Wednesday was our official day off from painting and the day we had promised to take the Horvath girls hiking.  First though, we started the day bright and early by watching the sun rise over the mountains at the Rio Grande Gorge.

After a delicious morning nap, it was off to the Taos Ski Valley to do some mountain climbing!

The scenery was breathtaking!

(Once again, all the photos on this post were taken by Leah!)

Our plan was to hike to Williams Lake, which we were informed was 2.4 miles from the ski lodge.  In reality, however, we found it to be closer to 5 miles of hiking - one way!

Gorgeous.

Rachel the cheerful!

Looking a bit pregnant. :)

Along the way, we saw lots of wildlife, like this chipmunk...

...and this adorable creature called a lemming.

At long last, we reached the lake!

The whole area was so beautiful!

Leah and Rachel at the lake.

The three musketeers.

Lovebirds.

Next, we decided to take the trail up to Wheeler Peak...

...until we realized that it was another hour and a half of hiking!

Since we were running out of time, we decided to save that climb for another day and head back to our car...another 5 miles down the mountain!

A furry marmot.

This deer was literally about 10 feet in front of us on the trail when encountered her.  She was not scared of us at all.

Yes, I'm thinking Taos is quite the beautiful place to live! :)

Back down the trail...

We were a bit tuckered out by the end...but it was so worth it!

Lovely Leah.

Over the river and through the woods, to our car we go!

Farewell ski valley!  It was fun!

We're Here!

I apologize for my negligence in posting to this blog, but ever since arriving in Taos last Thursday, we hit the ground running!  Not until today has there been time to post an adequate update, but at last, here it is! :)  Thank you so much for your patience and your prayers!  God has been so good to us!

Driving up here over the course of two days would have been boring and difficult were it not for the wonderful helpers the Lord provided at the last minute.  Rachel and Leah made the drive so much fun as we followed the big blue Budget truck, and with Leah taking a turn behind the wheel every couple of hours, I had the chance to rest or ride with my husband.

Not only was she a great driving partner, but Leah is also the one responsible for all the pictures in this post!  

Some New Mexican scenery along the way.

Mountains, desert shrubs, and the color pink describe the topography quite well through much of this state!

The famous camel rock.

Taking the high road through the mountains to Taos.

The Rio Grande Gorge.

When we arrived, a group of people from the church helped us unload the truck into the parsonage where we are living.  With all their help, the job was done in no time!

The following day, we got to work on Operation Paint the Parsonage!  The mustard yellow and burnt peach colors just had to go. :) We figured it would be much easier to paint first and unpack second, plus we had great help from Rachel and Leah which made the work go swiftly!  

The kitchen looks MUCH better with light sage green walls and white cabinets!

While we girls did the majority of the painting, Nathan diligently worked on staining all the window frames a dark brown that looks beautiful and matches our furniture quite nicely.

Doesn't creamy white look so much better??? It really lightens things up!

The kitchen was quite the project, it turned out, with all its nooks and crannies.  Leah was a great detail painter who stopped at nothing to get the job done! :)

Rachel - the expert roller! :)

Thanks to our wonderful helpers, we got so much accomplished this past week!  We painted the living/dining room, the guest room, the hallway, and the kitchen, including all the cabinets.  We also began unpacking these rooms which makes for a much more settled feeling.

Rachel and Leah were such a tremendous blessing to us!  Not only did they do excellent work from dawn until dusk every day, they displayed cheerful attitudes the whole time filling our home with laughter and joy.  They also went the extra mile to be as helpful as possible, making dinner when I was sick or needed a nap, doing laundry, and giving me massages on occasion as well.  I am so grateful for their presence here this past week!