Kelli's Horse Show

Kelli was recently in a horse show!  She placed 2nd in one event and 3rd in two events!  So proud of her!  I so wish that we could've been there to watch her compete!  She had a great time riding Dreamer.  And don't you love how she braided Dreamer's mane?!  Go, Kelli!!!

Peppers and Store Opening

I know I said that I would talk about our trip to Italy, but I have to take a small sidestep for a couple of things that happened when we returned from Italy: my friend Jovana had her store opening and pepper season hit our home!

My friend Jovana has been working at a pet store for several years.  It's not been a good situation at all.  So, when her dad offered her some money to open her own store, she jumped on it!  I'm so proud of her and her mom!  They have worked so hard to make this business a success, and I pray that it will be!  I went to her store opening the evening that we got back from Italy.  One custom here is to throw money on the floor for the new owner - to congratulate them, to wish them success, and to give them a start-up gift.  It was fun seeing the money all over the floor!  Wishing you the best, Jovana!!

 Also, it's pepper season here.  Most people had already bought their peppers to make ajvar, to pickle them, or to prepare them for the winter.  I buy 20-30 kilos to cut up and freeze.  That way, I have them all winter when I make fajitas, jumbalaya, or other dishes.  During the winter, they are much harder to find and more expensive.  So, we've adapted to the "it's available now, in season, and cheaper, so we buy it and freeze it" mentality!  It's great!  Here are two pics - one of my sink full of red peppers and one of three bags of green peppers, ready to go in the freezer.  (I ended up with four bags of red peppers!)  I'm ready for winter!!

Italy Pictures!

Ok, this entry will just contain links to see our pictures from Italy!  Enjoy!!  We certainly did!  I'll talk more about it all in the next entry.

Venice
Florence 1
Pisa and Vinci
Florence 2
Siena
Vatican City
Around Rome
Rome - Pantheon
Rome - Colosseum and Forum
Rome - Catacombs

Sisters' Conference

One highlight of each year in Serbia for me is the Sisters' Conference in Belgrade.  Hundreds of Christian women from all over the country gather together for worship, teaching, fellowship and encouragement.  Ladies give their testimonies and different church choirs lead the singing.  The one comment I kept hearing over and over again was how much love could be felt all over the church!  What a blessing!  There were over 400 women from 40 different cities in Serbia.  I'll put more pictures and video on next week.  Enjoy these pictures!

Slow Week

The past week has been a very slow week for me.  Mostly because I spent most of it in bed!  I was sick with a bad sore throat, having no voice for five days!  Yuk!  Between sneezing, coughing and sleeping, I was able to spend some time just praying.  Just cuddling up on my Father's lap.  It was good. 

And now that I'm feeling better, I'm ready to go out into the world!  I can't wait to see friends, to catch up on what is going on in their lives, to talk about my Father!