Food Adventures

Schaubs Do Christmas

Wow, I can't believe that Christmas came and went.

We kicked off the holiday season with Thanksgiving at Carol's sister's house. They live in a beautiful home  and opened it up for all of the family. I had the pleasure of cooking a few of the menu items with the other family cooks, and a great time was had by all.

Then we went to the Christmas tree lighting at the Westlake Center. It is sure a fun event, and this time, it didn't rain. We secured/commandeered a spot where we could see both the hosts and all the areas that were lit up. It was a great start to the Christmas season.

Over the next few weeks we got ready for Christmas by cooking and baking lots of different sweet treats. I really enjoy it, and this time I experimented a little bit more with gluten-free recipes. For the most they worked out, and Pamela's Products remains my favorite brand. There are a few other brands emerging, but so far, every time I use PP, I get a successful product.

We went to the Kleyns and enjoyed decorating Gingerbread people and graham cracker homes. Michele's was definitely the best, but we all had fun showing off our (lack of) cake decorating talent. It was also a night of enjoying Hot Chocolates with Peppermint Schnapps and Hot Buttered Rum. In honor of the commercialized Holiday Season, we also watched "Elf."





We also went to the Swedish Cultural Center for the St. Lucia's Day celebration. St. Lucy was martyred for her faith, and she is honored in December. Afterwards, Josh and I drove around Seattle looking at Christmas lights (Candy Cane Lane in Ravenna is nice, but small) and at the lighting of the city (I can never tire of the Space Needle).

For the first time ever, we went to a national forest (with a permit) and picked out a Christmas tree. It was fun, and it was cold. There was a pleasant layer of snow on the roads and on the trees, and it put me in a very Christmasy mood. The trees were a bit sparse - of course, they were natural trees, not bred for their bushiness. So our tree turned out to be a little Charlie Brown-ish as well. I liked it, but our attempts to bulk it up mostly looked humorous rather than effective. I think we'll go snowshoeing next year and get a tree from a tree farm, but it definitely made a great memory.

We went to Colorado to celebrate with the Kings thanks to the generosity of our sister in law who gave us some standby passes on Alaska. We were only there for three nights, which were spent mostly catching up with my parents and preparing Christmas dinner. We had a great time. My mom and I even figured out how to make some gluten-free knedliky. 

I also took advantage of the time and baked some gluten-free cookies for Josh. King Arthur Flour makes a basic cookie mix into which up to 3 cups of mix-ins can be added, so Josh ended up with a wide variety of cookies and treats. 

We joined my parents for the Christmas Eve service at New Life Church and were greatly amused by the lights, music, and message. The talented performers played a rocking version of Carol of the Bells, a funny, radio drama-style version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," and even had ice skaters performing on the center stage.

We didn't really get any snow, but it was fun spending some quality time with my parents.

It was very nice and very fun to be in Colorado for Christmas.

We flew home on Christmas day, which turned out well. The flights weren't as full as we'd feared, and we were able to get the first flight from Denver to Seattle. We made it home for Christmas in Seattle, too!

We hope your year has been wonderful and that next year brings even more love and laughter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We're going to Hong Kong for sure!

 

We just bought our tickets!
We leave Jan 24 and return March 14. Woohoo!

We're so grateful for the outpouring of support we've received. We're getting really excited to see our friends and to meet new friends.
Last night, Josh and I presented our trip to the Global Presence ministry at Quest Church, our home church. Here's the presentation. (Note that the header was a combination of Chinese and English, and when it's presented as a screen capture, it scrambles the image a little. Sorry about that!)

Hong Kong

Pregnancy Crises

Mother's Choice

Mother's Choice's Mission

Services

About Joshua and Kimberly

Our Tasks as Volunteer Staff

Our Expected Schedule

Financial Report

Specific Concerns and Prayer Requests

Thank you to each of you who have supported us financially, spiritually, and emotionally. We would not have the courage or even the call on our lives had it not been for our relationships with each of you. 

We are so excited for this upcoming trip, and we're looking forward to sharing each step with you.

Send us to Hong Kong

We are so very excited to share with you an amazing opportunity that God has opened up for us—the chance to go on a mission trip to serve the Mother’s Choice crisis care center in Hong Kong. This trip will allow both of us to use our education and skills in order to have a tremendous impact on those in need.  For Kimberly, this return to her roots will let her give back to many children coming from the same circumstances into which she was born.

Mother’s Choice was founded in 1987 to serve the desperate needs of unwed teen mothers who found themselves in the difficult situation of an unexpected pregnancy. At that time, teen mothers had been traveling to China from Hong Kong to get illegal and dangerous abortions. Today, Mother’s Choice provides temporary homes for those teen moms while they finish their pregnancies and for babies who await adoption. It provides foster families that help to care for up to 300 babies and has locations both in Hong Kong and main land China.

Kimberly’s parents, Mike and Paulette, credit the advocacy of the founding individuals of Mother’s Choice in supporting their efforts to adopt. As they were working as missionaries with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) locally, doors were opened with the government to begin the process of allowing international families to adopt “unwanted” babies. Kimberly was among the first babies to be adopted, and her life has been blessed and enriched by the love and grace she has experienced.

We have committed to volunteer at Mother’s Choice for 6 weeks starting January 2011. As we are both health care professionals, our responsibilities will include caring for physical and emotional needs, assisting with outings, and teaching classes. The staff has asked each of us to teach staff training classes in mental health and nutrition. We will be working primarily with young infants and children who are awaiting adoption. Because of Josh’s work experience, we will also be assisting special-needs kids.

Although this is a brief letter, we trust that you know our hearts and can hear our desires to be a part of something larger than ourselves. We would like to ask you to partner with us in serving Mother’s Choice in two specific ways: first, we ask for your prayers and any advice you could send our way. We value community and know that we cannot do this alone. Second, we ask for financial assistance as we take this step. Our combined need totals about $5,500. This will help us cover our travel and lodging costs. If you would like to join us in this mission project, please send us a check, made to Kimberly or Joshua Schaub. We hope to purchase tickets by September 20^th, and we hope to be fully funded by October 24^th.

Kimberly will continually update their blog, http://www.jkschaub.blogspot.com, throughout the adventure. Thank you so much for your love, financial support, and prayers for our mission.

*Please contact Kimberly directly to get our mailing address* 

Climbing Up the Rock

Joshua and I have been together for almost 8 years now, and it sounds so weird to say. I have spent more time with him than I have in post-high school education. Anyway, enough reminiscing.

One of the things we vowed to each other when we wed 5 years ago was to keep our brains and our bodies in shape for each other. That might sound really shallow, but essentially, it was a vow to keep learning and doing things that we love doing together.

As a foodie, it's easy to become enthralled in activities that draw me into different circles, leaving Josh behind. At the same time, as an outdoor enthusiast, Josh could meet friends who enjoy hiking a little more than I do. It's easy for us to say, "Okay, see you back home." We work hard not to let that happen, so I try to accompany him on as many outdoor things as he does for me at restaurants and markets. I am working off quite a deficit, you see.

Well, a few weekends ago Joshua had the opportunity to do the Marmot Rock Out hosted to woo REI employees. He kindly took me with him to 8 Mile Campground, Leavenworth, WA. I was a little bit skeptical, because I'm not a "gear junkie" who has a different sleeping bag for different weather conditions (who wants to camp in snow anyway?) or bicycles for asphalt conditions. But, I went along, because he loves being outdoors, and I love seeing him happy. Lucky for me, karma was on my side, and I had a great time.

We joined the bouldering group from the camp out and headed out to some "problems" less than a mile from our campsite. I haven't bouldered before, so I was pretty nervous. Bouldering is skillfully clambering up rocks without ropes to catch you if you fall, so you're not climbing very high. Several experienced climbers schlepped "crash pads" to cushion a climber's crash, and I eyed the puffy pads with some skepticism. What if I bounced off?

I decided to climb up a side of one of the rock problems everyone else was trying. This rock was wedged into the side of a hill, so it had a flat-ish face and a lumpy side. I crawled around on the lumpy side. Josh decided he could go up the flat face. What he hung onto, I'll never know. I stared at the face for a few minutes and then resumed my scramble up the side. After successfully climbing the extremely rocky staircase, I decided to try an actual problem.

Josh directed me to a side problem, and he helped me get my first step. I got about halfway up the problem -- it was probably 15 feet tall - I got seriously stuck. I was all spread-eagled on the wall with no idea of how to shift my weight. Then I heard it: people had stopped climbing their problems and had begun staring at me. "Move your right hand to that hold there." "Shift your left foot up here." And so forth. It's both incredibly intimidating and inspiring to finish a climb when a dozen REI staff members are staring and your -ahem - feet and legs and suggesting different ways to accomplish the climb. I tried to listen for Josh's voice, and gradually, he and a few others guided me up the rest of the rock. Several tense minutes that were each an hour long, I summitted my first bouldering rock and experienced a rush of adrenaline that I think you would feel if you won a race or accomplished something you were pretty sure you were going to fail.

Well, that accomplishment achieved something Josh had really been hoping for: I loved climbing. It was extremely challenging, and I'm going along slowly to avoid injuring my shoulder, but I really look forward to each climbing trip. Okay, we've only been on one other with Ingrid and JoJo.

The other is that I have found the climbing community to be extremely giving and close-knit. When we were at the Marmot Rock Out, a celebrity climber, Beth Rodden, joined the camp to help promote the product and unify the campers. She shared her incredible story with us, and I was struck by how the community of climbers gathered around her when she had to become re-motivated to climb. I also found her to be a humble woman who loved climbing but also enjoyed hearing from us. We had the rare opportunity to take her to Seattle after the camp trip and explore some of the dairy free and gluten free bakeries around the city, because that was an interest she and I shared. We were also blessed by the generosity of one pair of climbers/REI employees working in Santa Fe, Amanda and Derek, who gave me a gift certificate for climbing shoes. They encouraged me to continue going up and enjoying myself. What a community.

Last weekend, we went on our second climbing adventure. This time, we drove south to Tacoma and met up with Ingrid, a dear friend of Josh from high school. She and her boyfriend JoJo are climbers who have adventured all over the place. JoJo is also a climbing instructor at the local climbing gym. Ingrid is an occupational therapist whose knowledge of body mechanics makes her a talented climber. JoJo and Ingrid took the afternoon to help me learn the basics of climbing - like tying your harness and belaying - while Josh encouraged me to stretch myself in a weird craggy climb. He kindly took some candid pictures of me as well.

It's so fun to have an activity that we both enjoy fully. Although I'm not a marriage expert, I think that has been the key to our marriage so far. Keep doing things we both enjoy, and do those activities that the other loves just as much as you enjoy your hobbies. Seek out new activities that you can share. Support each others dreams. Date.

Seattle's Early Summer Teaser and The Schaub's Plans

Summer seemed to arrive in May, and the farmers markets started to fill up. Tiny's Organic is a regular attendee of the Pike Place Market farmers market, and Josh kindly modeled the great customer service one can receive from them. They sell fruit from all over Washington as well as fruit smoothies and fruit preserves. 

May is a significant month for the Schaub family, and we are developing some new traditions. First, we kicked off the month by celebrating Matt's birthday with 20 of his closest friends. We went to our first Sounders game, and I think the fan bug has bitten. We might try become committed fans! 

We enjoyed dinner at the Elysian Brewery on Capitol Hill and then went to some dive bar for drinks. It was a fun day! 

In May, we also remembered Nathan, Josh and Matt's eldest brother. Bill and Carol brought a beautifully framed collage of pictures and some significant items of his. It was a nice family day to remember loved ones and to reflect on the fragility and value of life.  

May also brought about the Cheese Festival, which is any cheese-lovers dream. Cheese companies including Organic Valley and Cypress Grove were represented, and the best part was the sheer volume of cheese samples! We had to stand in some pretty long lines to taste the cheese, and we only lasted for two-and-a-half cheese booths. I also had a chance to see Chef Daisley Gordon prepare Pommes Aligot, a cheese and potato dish that defies the simplicity of the title. Exquisite. 

School is almost over; the final exam is June 15th. I am teaching a summer session at PCC, but Seattle Community College is almost done. It hasn't really felt like summer, since the weather has gone back and forth between party sunny days and rain. 

In addition to working at REI, Joshua has started volunteering with Outdoors for All. This seems to be a great way to pair his problem-solving skills and therapy knowledge with his love for the outdoors and recreation. The organization works to help disabled individuals get out and enjoy outdoor recreation within their means.  

I am writing like a maniac for Demand Studios. I am also working on my blog, Peas on Moss, and have been recently approved for writing as an Examiner.  More details are available on Peas.  I still hope to attend culinary school this fall and get the official knowledge needed for some career and business ideas I have.  

Day by Day Gourmet has shuttered its doors for the time being, though Graham has shared that he believes an idea of replacing quick dinners with wholesome, easily prepared meals is still one that will sell. He has encouraged me to look towards some other projects for the time being, and the experience and learning I've gained from the project has helped develop my interest in R&D in nutritional products. 

We have also begun looking towards a mission trip in Hong Kong, so details might be coming for that, soon. Before we "settle" down and start our own family, we thought it would be wonderful to give back to the organization and vision that helped make it possible for children to be adopted or for pregnant mothers to develop the abilities to raise healthy, loved children.