Koreans, cleanups, Conference, and pools

Hello to all! 

Another week has passed. Can you believe it?

With every passing moment, Eden is getting bigger, Austin is getting smarter, and I am... well, I am doing lots of things and trying hard to do more than just exist. It is easy to fall into the motion of doing nothing because nothing is on the calendar. In some respects, it is really nice to be able to go to the pool whenever, eat meals at my own convenience, and have time to take care of the house. At the same time, I realize that I was put on earth to do more than just breathe. Didn't one of the speakers at Women's Conference say something about that just last night? In order to do more than "just exist" I am eating up gospel material, working minimally, and finding small ways to serve. Being a Mom and a wife is worthy of existing especially, but like anything you can be passive and mediocre, or you can be present and stellar. I hope to always be the latter. 

You will be interested to hear that I saw a living replica of Sampson at the pool this week. I wish I got a picture. It was one of those moments where I couldn't believe my eyes and was almost embarrassed that I could not help staring. This man was about 50 years old, black, and had dreadlocks down to his knees. It was an incredible sight. To top it off, he was dancing like he was high and his maybe 3 year old grandson was growing hair just like him. 

Another time at the pool, I watched a family enjoy themselves from a distance. A happy of family with 4 kids, dressed modestly, happy and pleasant- they just looked LDS. And they were- I asked :) Isn't it awesome that even in the middle of the ocean, you run into people of your own faith? I love that we have a look about ourselves that says, yep, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. 

I was delighted to watch Women's Conference online last night. It felt like we were home. Surprisingly or not, I haven't been homesick really. The few moments of longing came from looking at the beautiful pictures of Temple Square of all things. At the same time, I am overwhelmingly grateful that the Spirit is the same here as it is there and that God is still my God and that the Church is one and the same. President Uchtdorf related a story around a picture of a pioneer happily skipping down the path even though it was sure to be difficult and full of trials. I imagine us to be much like that pioneer girl right now: happy despite our circumstances, which are still luxurious and blessed compared to most. 

Yesterday was supposed to be a Branch cleanup of the building. The Branch ended up consisting of Austin, me, Eden, the Presidency, and the Senior missionaries. Needless to say, it was a scanty show up. There are multiple reasons for this; however, I was grateful that we went to help out. I mention this whole situation because I appreciate the lessons learned from mom and dad (you). Despite how busy, inconvenient, afflicted, or whatever, they (you) never neglect duty and have taught me what it means to truly sustain our leaders and do what is right. `Thanks for that :)

The Branch President and his wife are from Korea. The wife loves babies and is always itching to play with, hold, and entertain the few that are at church. She sat behind us in church today- Eden fell asleep in the middle of Sacrament meeting; I handed her over to Austin and proceeded to stretch and crack my back. Seeing this, Sister Kim (the President's wife) came to the rescue. When church was over, she made me sit in a chair while she proceeded to manipulate, torque, and adjust me. Somewhat between a massage and a chiropractic fix, Sister Kim was exactly what you'd imagine a Korean to look like. Austin said she had her knee in my back while getting up on the chair with me and everything. Truthfully, I was scared she was going to break me.Two minutes later, she finished and asked me how I felt... Wow! That was extremely amazing! I honestly felt awesome, which is saying something because my back has not been the same since having Eden. I'm pretty sure there are underlying disc problems. Anyway, I am now a believer of this Korean magic. 

I am sure I am forgetting things- funny things happen all the time, but alas, you'll never know because I can't remember any more. 

Chicken Avocado Wrap & Modified Cafe Rio Black Beans

My Recipe Collection is made up of dinners from my kitchen. I am a minimalist chef; I have limited kitchen supplies and shop for basically the same things each week. That means our meals are simple, cheap, and use only what you have in the pantry or fridge. Where the kitchen is not my own and the food is outrageously pricey, this is how we live in the Caribbean!

Makes 8 Wraps

Ingredients:

• 8 Homemade Tortillas 
• 1 Large Avocado
• 1/4 Cup Salsa
• 2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded

Directions:

1. Cut avocado into cubes. Divide avocado cubes evenly onto tortillas. Smash avocado leaving large chunks.
2. Pour salsa over avocado to your liking.
3. Layer with chicken
4. Roll tortilla into a wrap and enjoy!

Tips:

• My favorite tortilla recipe is Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas.  I make a batch or two and refrigerate or freeze what I don't use so it makes for fast and easy dinners later. They are still yummy if warmed in the microwave though they are best fresh. 
• The avocados that I use here in the Caribbean are HUGE! You may need 2 avocados to equal one the size that I use. 
• Chicken makes for a good roll over ingredient. I like cooking enough chicken to have leftovers so I don't have to defrost day after day. It also makes for fast meals later. 
• You can cook your chicken however you prefer. For convenience sake, and because I have a limited kitchen, I usually heat them on the stove in a pan with a little water. Slow cooked chicken would also work deliciously well. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces black beans 
• 8 ounces corn
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. cumin or cumin seeds
• salt to taste
• 1/8 cup cilantro

Directions:

1. Spray a skillet with pan spray or use Butter Spray and brown the garlic and cumin seeds. 
2. Add the diced tomato and stew. 
3. After about 5 minutes, add the corn, black beans, and salt
4. Stir in chopped cilantro prior to serving

Tips:

• Buying canned beans is too expensive, so I opt for dried beans. Because it takes forever to cook dry beans, I make two packages at once and freeze them in ziplock baggies until I am ready to use them in my meals. 
• When making this side dish, I used frozen beans and frozen corn. It works to use canned or frozen.
• The original recipe that this was modified from called for tomato juice. Again, I only had fresh tomatoes. When cooking with a fresh tomato, make sure to dice into small pieces to utilize as much juice as possible. 
• I made this dish without cilantro because I didn't have any in my fridge. It tasted just fine without it, but needed more salt.

Rain, rain, come our way

Greetings from the island! We send our love and excitement for all that is happening back home. Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma! It's remarkable for some to live 67 years, let alone be married (and married happily) for so long! What a wonderful cause to celebrate. We were delighted to hear that you were able to enjoy dinner with my parents and a nice week in Sun Valley. It sounds like a nice, relaxing trip. Oh, how it would be to sit by a fire! The thought of being cold and needing a jacket is merely a dream at present- one which we are all looking forward to seeing through come December. 

Never in my dreams did I ever imagine the boys in our family to be singers, but even that came true. I laugh every time I think the thought. It used to be that only mom sang the hymns at church while everyone else sat stone cold through the songs. Now Bryce is taking voice lessons from Gregory and Dad is singing in quartets. When did this all happen?! It is so fun seeing everyone grow up. As they do, I appreciate more and more that family is what this life is all about. There is no greater joy!

Eden is also growing up. It seems like she changes from one day to the next. Last week, just as mom predicted, she started her "dropping phase." With no warning, everything was, and is, on the floor. This week Eden decided it wasn't enough just to drop things; she wanted to know where they went. This led to her pulling herself up on the edge of the playpen. I'm having to watch this child of mine! She has climbed as high as her knees so that her arms and head are clearly over the edge. Don't worry- I'm always watching, a must because her next move is to straighten her legs and topple to the unforgiving tile. That is how she crawls too- with straight legs. For not actually crawling, this girl sure knows how to get where she wants to go. Eden mimics an inch-worm quite well; while prostrating herself, face and all, on the floor she somehow manages to hike her bum in the air and push herself forward. It's quite tricky. Additionally, Eden is learning to stand up with little help and has figured out how to play peek-a-boo. She now hides and tries to be found. 

Yet again, Eden has a runny nose, but I'm hoping that means teeth are coming soon. She has been oddly sucking her thumb and pulling on her hair and ears, so something is in the works. 

It seems I forgot to mention that Austin was hired as an Anatomy TA for this semester. You all should know that he was sought out by his professors in each class, every professor wanting him to TA for their subject. While other kids were competing to get chosen, Austin had first pick for whatever he wanted. His preference would have been to TA for Cell Biology because it would compliment his current classes the best and because it is of high interest to him; however, Anatomy paid twice as much. In the end, his lucrative side won over and he chose Anatomy. Thanks to his hard work and good grades, he has knocked off 1/4 of his tuition between his scholarship and TAing. Like mom says, it pays to be smart (and to work hard). 

I guess it also pays to be a deadbeat hypochondriac and/or a homeless jailbird as long as you have a good doctor too, but I wouldn't opt for the easy road in that situation. 

Anyway... I'm not quite lucky enough to send a letter without some bug story just yet, although I will say that my complaints are slim after reading that dad was used to 10-12 roaches in the kitchen in Maryland. We had an infestation of flying ants all in a matter of minutes. I just wish I noticed before I trampled them in my bare feet. (Dad- Austin and I both asked the same question: where about does one find Boric Acid?) 

My creativity in the kitchen is continually being challenged, but I have come off conqueror to even my amazement. Without living here, I probably never would have ventured to make homemade pancakes. You forget that it's possible without Costco Buttermilk Pancake mix. And... if you've never tried vanilla and brown sugar syrup, it's a must. I like it better than maple. 

Have another fantastic week! Cherish the cold for us! We have gotten more rain than usual this week, but it's still hot! Imagine me driving in a rain storm and it's so hot and steamy that I can't see through the windows. Can't roll the windows down because the rain is coming down so hard. Can't turn on the air because there is no such thing. Yikes! Don't worry,  somehow the windshield cleared up enough for me to see that dirt hill that I was driving up looked more like a river than anything a car should be on. Oh, St. Kitts....

Back into it all

We are alive and mostly well. We can proudly say that we survived cockroaches, giant spiders, sickness, and water outages this week. Oh, "paradise!"

I thought we were pretty used to life here. Then again, I don't know if you can ever get used to living like this. More so, I think we have just come to terms and accepted the lower standard of living. You will get the gist of things as you keep reading. 

One letter, just maybe, you won't have to read about bugs. For now, overcoming creepy crawly critters is one of the biggest triumphs here. Since coming back, Austin and I have seen 6 cockroaches- dead or alive- at our house. We have sprayed as meticulously as possible and have successfully- hopefully- seen the last of those guys. The bigger deal is that we finally got rid of the ants in our kitchen! After 4 1/2 months, that is BIG news. The only problem now is that we pushed them out of the kitchen and into our bedroom. The war never ends. 

So the food chain goes- the spiders eat the cockroaches, eat the ants, eat our food. No food, no ants, no cockroaches, no spiders? WRONG! You'd think there were enough roosters, monkeys, birds and lizards to get rid of these guys too, but apparently NOT. Or maybe I don't understand the food chain? Get a load of this....

Eden and I came home from swimming to find that there was a funny looking branch/weed that got trapped in between our door and this foam padding we use as weather stripping. At closer look, I realized it was something more than foliage. Lucky for me, this baseball sized spider was smashed and done for. It's happened before with lizards too. Not wanting to touch it, I let it alone. When Austin came home, I unlocked the door for him and bid him to look at the real Halloween decoration I found. His eyes lit up as he realized what it was. So here was Austin, outside, and me, inside with the spider between us. It had been pouring rain and we have a broken rain gutter right above our front door that spills its contents so loudly that you can hardly hear anything but crashing water. As a result, Austin and I were yelling back and forth: "how long has that been there?" "Is it alive?" "It's dead." "Are you sure? No it's not." "Well it was." "It's Alive?" "AaahHHH!!! It's ALIVE!! I THOUGHT it was DEAD!" Good old Yabba heard us yelling and came over to see if we were all right. Austin yelled at him to come look at the spider, which he did, and continued to save us from it. It was a battle of spraying it with toxic chemicals, stabbing it with a stick, trying to keep it from running in the house after me and Eden who were hiding in the bedroom trying to still watch the escapade, and finally putting an end to that thing that was still twitching on the ground. Austin asked Yabba to step on it just to make sure he was really dead, which Yabba did. 

Whew! Glad we survived that one. Had I known that spider was alive, I never would have stepped foot in our house. I can't believe I stepped over that thing. Ew! Just thinking about the thing makes me shudder. Now you know why we have the reputation of being the sissy white kids in the neighborhood: a spider held us hostage. If only we got a picture.... that thing was HUGE! Yabba said they live in holes and come out when the rain floods them out. Rumor is they aren't dangerous, but rather advantageous because of the bugs they eat, but I'll tell you what- that spider was so big it could have eaten my baby alive!

On another note-

The island may be green, but we are still in a drought despite the water coming from the tropical storms (which we have yet to see). Our water is being rationed. It goes off anywhere form 8-10 pm and comes on in the morning around 6ish. That's no big deal. We have learned to fill the sink with water for hand washing and just wait to flush the toilet in the morning. What was a big deal, was not being warned that the water was going out in the middle of the day on Saturday. We have a water supply, but hoping it was going to come on sometime soon, we just let the dishes sit and didn't shower. Dealing with poop, making dinner, and cleaning are tricky when you don't have available water and a drain. How lucky we are to live in this day and age. The good thing is that I learned that we should have certain things on hand in case of a real emergency, like paper plates, disposable diapers, broth to cook with instead of water, and juice. Grandpa Cutler once mentioned that living here sounds worse than camping. Well, yeah. Camping is kind of what we are doing at times. 

Poor Eden caught a slight cold this week which quickly spread to the rest of us. She got over the most of it after 2 days of constantly sneezing snot rockets. I'm fine other than needing to blow once in a while, but Austin hasn't felt too well at all. Between the stress of school and not taking care of himself like he ought to, his immune system is what I would consider to be barely functional. Eden is now fake coughing to imitate her daddy. It's hilariously adorable. That, and she just won't stop talking! I love it other than making church a bit tricky. I don't know what kind of a lady we are raising though- Eden growls, screeches, and talks in her low, low voice. We have been blessed to inherit lots of toys from the other families on the island so Eden has lots to keep her occupied now. She really seems to enjoy being able to play. 

Home away from home again

Austin, Eden, and I made it home. We are safe and as sound as we can be in our circumstances. 

We enjoyed every minute of the last two weeks! If only it were longer. Being gone really makes us appreciate family and the time we get with you. How blessed we are to have such a wonderfully supportive, fun, and loving family. Thank you for taking us in and letting us sabotage your time.  

As you know, we left Wednesday night. The days all blur together when you have midnight flights like that. Luckily, Eden travels well and is happy for us. It was one of those days where I know it would have gone better had I said my prayers. Very seldom do I forget to pray, but that- of all days- was one of them. The lady who was checking us was not about to give us a break in any way. Our checked bag ended up being 50 pounds on the dot. She was sure it wouldn't be an ounce more. We had to prove to her that all our bags were carry on size. Ugh. We've never been asked to prove ourselves. It was tight and took a bit of pushing and shoving, but we got all bags to fit. Whew! That really was quite the miracle. Austin is like Popeye on these trips: popping out muscles to carry our house and the grocery store on his back. Somehow we manage and were even on time with plenty to spare. 

Once at the gate, we randomly bumped into Josh Cooper- Austin's BFF from high school and college roommate (until I came along and took over both those positions). That was a fun surprise and made the time go by quickly. He was heading to Washington DC for an internship with the Senator. We are all growing up! Lucky for us, the first plane ride was sparce! and freezing! One thing you don't think about coming from an island is that other parts of the world require clothing and blankets. We will be better prepared for next time. At least Eden was warm. There was enough space on the plane for us to have an entire row to ourselves. I laid down with my feet up on one row with Eden and left Austin on another to enjoy the on board entertainment. We made it to Miami where they checked our bags, making it much easier on us. We slept as best we could on the hard, straight-backed chairs, and made it one more flight home. Thanks to mom and the treats she sent with us, our bellies were happy too. 

To our surprise, the island looks completely different now than when we left. Rumor is that Hurricane Erika brought 8 hours of rain to the island while we were in Utah. Everything magically turned green! Things look a bit more tropical and like you would imagine an island to be like. It's a nice change. Oy! I'll tell you what though, it is HOT! In the short drive home, we managed to soak through our clothing as if we had jumped in a pool. Yep, a pool of sweat! Welcome back. Despite all the things to follow, we were very grateful that our ride was waiting in our car, to know the island, have something familiar to go back to, and to have a few groceries waiting for us- quite different from first arriving four months prior. 

What followed? Well... dare you ask?

We have been battling bugs since we got here 4 days ago. They sprayed while we were gone, which helped, but it also meant coming back to dead bugs and an apartment that needed to be swept and bleached again. Despite the exterminator's efforts, we still had ants galore and live cockroaches inside and out. It's been a constant battle thus far of spraying, leaving the house, and cleaning. We haven't yet unpacked because we don't want to contaminate anything with chemicals. What a mess. It's not too bad otherwise. We are somewhat used to having comparatively nothing to eat, being confined to our bedroom, and lounging around in our underwear all day. As a side note- I hung up our new picture of Jesus- compliments of Mom- and I told Austin that he will now watch over us and make sure the bugs don't eat us alive or in our sleep. 

Now that we are here, it's been a good time. With Austin at home instead of at school, it actually feels like vacation and more like paradise.... kind of, almost... we have been able to go swimming at the Marriott and at the beach. It is more beautiful here now than we have ever seen it thus far. The ocean is warm yet comfortable with the heat and the pool was incredibly nice. We tried out the Atlantic Ocean at the Marriott- where there was too much seaweed for our liking, but had silky, awesome sand; and the Pacific Ocean at Carambola Beach. That was a beautiful beach with calm waves and a restaurant that came out of nowhere! It was like nothing on the island with a grand piano, seat covers, polished wood... it looked like something you'd see in James Bond or another extremely nice, rich, fancy movie. Anyway, we had a fun time there and then joined our friends at their place for dinner while we watched the BYU football game against Nebraska.

Here it is, Sunday again. We are grateful to have the gospel here on this tiny island. It's filling the whole earth! Austin enjoyed the unusual luxury of staying home today and is ready for school to start again tomorrow. Second semester, here we come! Eden couldn't be happier. She is a doll and a joy to have around. I just love that she is saying 'mom' and getting good at high fives now.