Strawberry Shortcake and Other Stuff

This afternoon, David went to the store and came back with some delicious strawberries! What a treat! While in Asia, we didn't get fresh strawberries very often, so it's great being here in Germany for the upcoming strawberry season! Aria and Nina eat them like they are chocolate! So, I decided to make some strawberry shortcake for supper. I knew the girls would like it, but I wasn't too sure about David. (My husband is a meat and potatoes kind-of guy. For him, it's not a meal unless there's meat!) But, David ate it... and even finished Aria's! He agreed that it was yummy, just not something he was used to. :)



One of the most common questions people ask us is, "so, have you experienced many difficulties in your marriage as you both come from different cultures?" We then both look at each other and smile. We remember that soon after we were engaged, a respected person told us that cross-culture marriages just don't work and it will be very hard for us. David and I both think, that even though coming from different cultures, we have more in common than those we grew-up with! So, when people ask us that question, we smile and so, "not really". And then I smile and add that perhaps the most difficult thing for me is the "food issue". I grew-up eating apple pie, bean soup and moonpies, while David was raised on borstch, stuffed cabbage, and meat! So, at times I feel that all the baking skills I learned while growing-up are not necessarily put to use, as I need to learn to make foods authentic to each country we are in... and then to my husband's particular taste. :) Yet, David is a good sport (most of the time... smile) and at least tries the foods I grew-up on. (Although, David did say bean soup is one thing he just doesn't know if he could try. The thought of soggy bread in milk doesn't appeal to him much. :)

We'd appreciate your thoughts for several things. First of all, please be thinking about David's Opa and Oma (Grandparents). His Opa was in the hospital all last year, and just recently in March came back home. He has been doing fairly well. Yet today, he is complaining about severe headaches and that he just doesn't feel very well. So, David is planning on driving him back to the hospital early tomorrow morning for some testing. We aren't sure if he'll be able to return home then, or if he'll need to stay at the hospital. Also, David's Oma is also not feeling well. She recently was in the hospital due to pain in her stomache. She continues to have symtoms from this and needs to go to the doctors herself.
Also, tomorrow evening, David is preparing to share about 30 minutes with the youth from our family group. He was asked to speak on "How can I know His will". It's a very interesting topic... and David is excited about it. It's just that there are so many interruptions during the day that he hasn't been able to spend as much time preparing as he'd like. I'm sure he'd really appreciate your thoughts!

Thank-you so much!!! Have a great day! :)