Iron Sharpenth Iron - Days 18,19

I have not been very good at getting posts up this week, but I will try to catch everyone up over the next couple of posts.

Tuesday we got a jump for the van we have, so we are once again mobile beyond our walking abilities. Yay!

I don't think I will ever again take for granted the ability to communicate and read English for my shopping needs. Mark dropped me off at the grocery store on Tuesday afternoon, and I began the experience of getting groceries without an interpertor for the first time.  In Poland, very few items have any English written on them, and if it weren't for the pictures on the packaging, I would be completely lost.  Google translate only works on my phone if I have WiFi, so it is great at the house but no help whatesoever outside of the house.  The cashier spoke no English, but thankfully, VISA is a universal language and requires minimal communication to use. It is definitely necessary to shop with a sense of humor. Mark went to Dominium Pizza and brought home dinner:  three cheers for calzones, pizza, and ice cream after that shopping trip! :D

My latest shopping disaster.  This lid is blue instead of red like the milk.
At home this just means different fat contents in the milk. Not in Poland!
I got it home and went to use it, only to find out that I bought six liters of  buttermilk!  Ha ha ha!

We topped the evening off with a walk to the park to play and bat around a ball on the ping pong table before heading home to get everyone in bed.  It rained a little bit while we were getting DD settled, and a double rainbow was clearly visible for several minutes. :-)

Wednesday found Mark taking all four kiddos to the park while I stayed behind to vacuum and mop the floors.  The house we are staying in has a large area rug in the living area and an entry rug at the door.  Everything else, including the bedrooms, have either wood, laminate, or tile flooring which requires mopping.  Have you ever tried to mop that much space with six people walking around on it?! It doesn't work well, hence, the trip to the park to get everyone out of the house.

While DD took a nap and the other kiddos watched cartoons for a bit, I tried my hand at making a Chocolate Cream Pie.  I did try some, and it's pretty good. It is just missing the whipped cream which I have not seen at any stores here.  Why didn't I just make it?  Well...my excuse is that my Kitchen Aid is several thousand miles away, I have no whisk here, and trying to whip cream with a fork was not my forte.

The verse from Proverbs comes to mind: "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." We were recently put in contact with an American family who lives and works in Warsaw.  They are in the process of adopting as well and graciously opened their home to us for dinner tonight.  We met a second adoptive family in their home as well.  All three families were able to spend time getting to know one another and eat tacos (not a Polish meal at all, but delicious!).  It was great to speak English to other adults who are in the adoption arena with us, and all the kids have a great time playing together.  It was a refreshing time to meet with other Christians and eat some good, American...Mexican? food. Mmmm!