I struggle with the question of why did I get better and she didn't?  While I don't have an answer for this, I am all the more grateful for the hope and healing that Christ has done in my life.  

The last status update on Bryna's Facebook says "Bryna is glad to not be sick anymore."  That was the update she had on Monday last week... just days before she died.  Though I am sure she was talking about overcoming a cold, one thing in that statement rings true... God is not surprised.  The Great Physician has healed her now, once and for all.  Though her struggles on earth were great, she fought as hard as she could to be healthy.  And while I am sad that her life was so tragically and abruptly ended, one truth remains: She's not sick anymore.  And there is much rejoicing in that.  I miss you, Bryna. 

Bryna is in this video at the following times:

1:54- in the red shirt behind me

2:26- in the overalls

My parents both lived overseas for quite a while when they were younger (in fact, my parents first met at high school in Colombia!) and this recipe for Anticuchos has been a favorite in my family for decades!   So for the first time, Sean and I made it and it actually turned out really good!!    So here's the recipes for Anticuchos and Marninate Purple Onions, just in case you're feeling adventurous.  The onions are my absolute FAVE!

2 1/2 pounds of eye of round steak cut into 1" squares

Marinade overnight in:

4 Chopped garlic cloves

1/4 Cup Red Pepper flakes (these substitute for Aji peppers that are hard to find in the states) blended with 1/2 Cup olive oil & 3 Tbs white vinegar

1 tsp sal

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

Enough vinegar to cover meat.

After is marinated overnight, skewer and cook over very hot fire and baste often with 1 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes (or chopped Aji peppers), 1/2Cup Oil, 3Tbsp vinegar and 2 Tbsp of the meat marinade.

Slice 2-3 large purple onions into skinny rings

Place in a glass or stainless steel bowl or pan

Pour 2 Cups of regular salt over the onions.  Cover that directly with a lot of ice.

Cover with Saran Wrap and then a towel.

Let set for several hours.

Rinse the onions well!!!!! (Use a collander and lots of running water)

Place in a glass canning jar with a tight fitting lid and fill the jar with apple cider vinegar, enough to cover the onions.

Refridgerate overnight.

Yummmm-O!

Other things I am loving right now?  The cool weather we had today and yesterday... but its gonna heat up again tomorrow.  Oh, well.  At least we got one more reprise before the heat sets in.  

I am also super excited because I have several design assignments that I am working on in my 'free time.'  I love doing that and am so happy to have something to do that allows a creative outlet!

I'm loving reading the histories of some countries.... a few I've been reading lately:

Oh, and I am really loving my husband these days.  He's the involvement pastor at our church and organized an awesome event this past weekend... it was an "adopt-a-mission" bus trip, where a bunch of people from our church (60!!!!!!) went all over town visiting and learning about the local missions we support and how they (and their small groups) can get involved.  It was so much fun and I"m really excited about adopting one of the missions with our small group.  (More on that later!)  So thanks to everyone who came out and made it a success!  We hope you learned a lot and got excited about what God is doing in Fresno!

The movie was an excellent piece about God's provision and healing, but there was one song in particular that really stuck out to me.  It is the song "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller.  BOY!  If there ever was a song written for me in my life right now, this is it.  You can go here and listen to the song... seriously.... go do it.  Just click the little play button under the video screen on the right.  You can see the music video from the movie, too.  I was reminded of this song while reading a post by my friend, Melissa who was also talking about waiting on God.

OK, so here's the Lyrics to the song....

While I'm Waiting

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

I will serve you, I will worship you, I will love you... while I'm waiting.  Its no secret that my life feels like a big giant waiting game right now.  Waiting to see what God wants Sean and I to do... waiting to see where God wants us to be....waiting for opportunities... waiting to see what our future family looks like.  That last one is really the toughest.  Or should I say, its the one I grow most impatient about.  Probably because it is the only one that I can truly do NOTHING about! But it is amazing, as we are on this journey to a family, I have complete and utter peace in the knowledge that God already knows our little one.  He knows exactly how that little one will get to us, and he knows exactly what we need to prepare for that day.  While I may not know right now if our child will come home in a hospital blanket or in an airplane, I do know that God has a plan.  So I am resting in the confidence that God's timing and God's plan is perfect.  That is the only explanation I have for the peace that I have felt for years.  Even though there are days it is painful, I know I will not grow weary.  

I also believe that in our times of waiting, God does not want us to be stagnant.  I believe that he wants us to continue to grow, and to worship and to love.  That is what I love so much about this song.  Its like a promise to God that while we are waiting on his timing, we will continue to be faithful... joyfully faithful, waking each day anew with hope and confidence.   

--> Passion

--> Patience

--> Pride

--> Presence

--> President

--> Peace

--> Pain

--> Perseverance

--> Parenthood

--> PURPOSE

Seriously, one thing just leads to another and I was thinking about all these things almost at once when I realized how strange my thought process is...  anyone else with me on this?  No?  Its ok... :-)  So what's been on your mind lately??

It is so nice to have my husband home again!  I haven't wanted to let him out of my sight hardly at all!!  I even went to the gym with him tonight... that's how much I missed him!  So now let's see if I can keep that up.....(the gym part, not the part about enjoying spending time with him!  I know I'll keep that up!)

On another note... to you Mac users... how do you organize your photos on your computer?  I think it is so confusing... it seems like my pictures are stored in a million different places, and none of them have any sense or order.  Its so frustrating!!

Back to work tomorrow... though I am finally caught up after 6 weeks on jury duty.  AND I had a mega long list to do on Friday but did almost ALL of the things on the list!  I love crossing things off of lists!!  Speaking of the trial... its been a week and a half and I still think about it every day.... and pray.  Still trying to let it go.  :-)

I found this quiz on my friend Jenny's blog and its great!!  It helps you find your design style... and it definitely pretty much sums up all the pretty decor things I love!!  Here's how I shaped up:

Its pretty accurate actually!!!  Everyone who knows me knows I love ALL things Italian, old, wooden, artistic and beautiful!!  But from my time living in NC I developed a love for the beach.  Every good Carolinan worth her salt in pork rub has at least one dedicated beach room.  I've carried the East Coast love all the way to California and still have my guest bathroom all decked out as my Carolina beach room.  I love it.  I am going to paint it soon.  :-)  So this was fun... you should do it and tell me what your style is!

In other, much more exciting news, SEAN COMES HOME TOMORROW!!!!  I AM SO EXCITED! I haven't heard from him in days and I miss him so much!!  So that means that tonite when I fall asleep, I"ll wake up and he'll be here just hours later!  He should pull into town around noon or so.  

OH!  And we're switching from Comcast tomorrow over to ATT Uverse.  I am so excited.  Comcast is ridiculously expensive.  I can't wait!  OHHhhh and I have a fun little table centerpiece decoration thing that I am going to make tonight and will try to upload pics of later.  :-)  Happy Friday!

OK that's enough for now.... even though I have TONS more I could share!  I'll save it for another day!

My husband is in Asia right now... he's been in South Korea for 5 days and is now in the Philippines and will soon head to Japan.  For the first week, he wrote me a note for every single day.  One day, his note directed me to his bedside drawer where a new bottle of perfume was waiting for me!  Tonight I came home and found a bag of Bugle chips by my front door. (I hope those are from him via a friend... otherwise that's just weird.) Oh and did I mention that each of those notes smelled like him? (He spritzed them with his cologne... I carried them around in my purse so I could smell it all day.) 

Sadly though, I came to the last of my handwritten notes from him yesterday.  There was just a note to look in a folder on the computer.  So, today was the day to do that.... and what did I find?!  

**Enter Why I Love My Mac**

The folder is filled with videos of him!!!  I get to watch one of him talking to me every day from now until Saturday, when he gets home!!!  How great is that?!?!  I love technology.

Another reason I love technology.... I got to talk to Sean today!  From the mountains in the Philippines all the way to my office in Fresno!  Then, we had our small group tonite, so we decided to call the boys via Skype!  It was great... since the Philippines is a day and a half ahead of us they are already mid morning on Wednesday.... they had just gone to the meat market and --get this-- ate DOG.  Brains, the head, and some more gross stuff.  But hopefully I can talk Sean into writing on here about his trip!!  While Sean was in Korea he ate some funky stuff that made him really sick and he was down for a couple of days!  Poor guy!  (But he totally knew better than to eat fermented cabbage.)

So, yes.... I Love my husband!  And though I miss him terribly, it is so nice to have little reminders of him with me.  Now I feel like a horrible wife for not doing the same for him while he is gone.  (Sorry for that babe.  But I still love you!)  He has definitely gone above and beyond, out of his way to show me that he loves me.  And for that I love him.  :-)