Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas from the great state of Texas! We’ve been in Houston nearly two years, and aside from the humidity, we love life here. Whether we are visiting art exhibits, attending concerts in the park, trying new restaurants, or driving by enormous mansions, we always find something entertaining about this city. Outside Houston we’ve enjoyed visiting the capitol building in Austin, the river walk in San Antonio, and a real working ranch outside College Station. We also can confirm for those of you wondering that everything really is bigger here: hair, food portions, boots, houses, jewelry, trucks, and so on… It’s rather amusing!

A lot has changed since we moved to Texas, including our jobs. Lach works for the Office of Emergency Management in an adjacent county. While it was a quiet year as far as hurricanes go, he stayed busy implementing programs and speaking for groups locally and around the country. He gets to speak at a large convention in San Antonio next year about how government can use Web 2.0 to communicate information during an emergency. Kari works for KIPP SHINE Preparatory school as a Pre-K 4 teaching fellow. KIPP is a charter school system that started in Houston and strives to close the achievement gap. She co-teaches with a lead teacher and will become a lead teacher herself next year. Regardless of the time and energy it takes to teach at KIPP, it is a great fit. She is amazed everyday at how capable and talented her 4 year olds are.

We are blessed to have found Kaleo, our church in Houston. It is because we found Kaleo that we have felt so welcome and at home here. We quickly realized that Kaleo was the church for us: on the first Sunday we visited we were invited to lunch after church, dinner the next week, a Bible Study, and even introduced to other Washingtonians. Several of the families that reached out to us that first Sunday are among our closest Houston friends today. About this time last year, Lach became a Community Group leader. After a year of weekly Bible studies, a retreat, service projects, and regular celebrations with our community group, they have become our Houston family. Kari also participates in the children’s and music ministries at church.

Our “family” has expanded since we moved to Texas. Donnie (our 2000 Honda Insight) has been a delightfully efficient addition. He’s especially helpful to have around for Lach’s 60-mile commute to and from work and when Lance(r) gets tired. It’s hard to believe he’s only been with us since May. Scooba Steve (Roomba’s mopping cousin) has been another fantastic addition to our home. He’s such a diligent and hard worker. We wish he knew how to climb walls so he could clean our windows and mirrors, too!

We hope that this holiday season is especially merry and bright for you and your family. We thank God for your friendship and pray that He would bless you and draw you closer to Him in the coming year.

Merry Christmas,

Lach and Kari

by Lach

Ok, I’m not one of those “bacon everything” people, although I do enjoy a crispy slice of pig fat as much as the next guy. Ok, maybe a little more than the next guy.

The thing is, bacon is the best part of many breakfasts, and I struggle with finding the best way to cook and eat it. One of the problems with bacon is the grease, I want to save it and use it later, but it’s such a hassle to handle.

Another unrelated (until now) problem is with waffles. The waffle iron should be sufficiently greased up with butter, but butter browns at the hot temperatures I like to use for my waffles.

The solution? Cook the bacon in the waffle maker. The win? Bacon waffles.

Takes 20 minutes, makes 4 big waffles.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of Bacon, cut in half
• 1 3/4 c All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Baking soda
• 2 Eggs
• 1 3/4 c Milk
• 1/2 c Butter, melted
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Bowls (one medium)
• 1 Whisk
• 1 Spoon
• Cup and spoon measures
• Waffle Iron
• An Iron Constitution

Recipe:

In the medium bowl mix together the dry ingredients (but no bacon), and put about 4 or 5 cut bacon slices on the pre-heated waffle iron, on the lowest setting.

Open the waffle iron when the light turns green, and move the bacon around so the whole piece gets cooked, not just the little squares.

In another bowl, beat the eggs and mix the rest of the wet stuff in. You might have to microwave the milk to keep the butter from solidifying when you add cold milk.

Quickly pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff and give it a good mix. It should be super lumpy, lots of little lumps. don’t over-mix.

By now it’s probably time to add about 1/4 cup of waffle mix to the waffle iron that has the bacon in it. Don’t remove the bacon first, just make sure it’s in the middle of the iron. To be clear, you’re pouring waffle juice around the bacon in the hot iron. Yes, this is magical, try to hold the cup steady since you’re now pouring and laughing like a mad scientist…

Close the lid with the waffle juice in there and cook it until the light turns green.

Serve the waffle with a little butter and lots of maple syrup.

Enjoy with fried eggs and french-pressed Pike’s Place Roast.

by Lach

This weekend Kari and I will be sleeping outside to raise awareness of homelessness in Houston, and to raise Money for Search Homeless Services.

Yes, this is a blog post asking for your money, but it’s not for me for once!  If you already know about Search and Sleepout and want to give, visit Lach’s Sleepout Fundraising Page. If you don’t trust me, what about Clyde Drexler? Hey look, it’s us in that YouTube video!

Here’s another clip of Houston’s City Council congratulation SEARCH on the success of SleepOut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOWjl9pOT-k

We have volunteered for Search before, helping them clean up their main building, and of course we were at the Sleepout last year (we were on the local news!) Search is an amazing ministry. They’re non-denominational faith based, meaning they encourage a more holistic recovery for those suffering from homelessness, directing them towards spiritual healing as well as physical, mental and emotional healing. They help at all phases of homelessness:

• They have vans that take socks, clothes, blankets, food, etc. to the homeless living on the streets every night
• They have free voicemail boxes for folks using their services, so they can hear from family or employment prospects.
• They have apartment placement services which help find and pay for a place when they want to get off the street.
• They offer computer and basic job skills training
• They offer job placement services through connections and partnerships throughout the city.
• They even offer nice clothing to wear to interviews.

Our friend, Jake, is on the board at search, and we know first-hand that they do good things in the community. We even had a chance to met and talk with another director of Search, who was once a homeless man himself helped and rehabilitated by Search.

In my mind, this is among the best, most honorable, and successful homeless outreach programs in the nation. I am proud to support Search’s ministry here in Hosuton.

Now I’m asking you to help too. I know many of you live outside Houston, but some of you haven’t supported the homeless in your local community yet this year. If you can, skip on this and donate locally of either your time or money; if you can’t, please donate to raise funds for the Sleepout this year.

One thing that  we hear over and over again when working with the homeless, is that above all they appreciate seeing that people care. This alone can be enough to motivate them to get into or continue a rehabilitation program. By donating to the Sleepout, you send a strong message to the homeless in Houston that people, all over the country, care about them and want them to have every opportunity they can.

So what’s Sleepout? We’ll be sleeping “under the stars in Sesquicentennial Park,” in downtown Houston. We’re not to bring food or tents, and will be provided with cardboard to lay on for padding. They will be feeding us the standard sandwiches they give out from their vans in the evening, but they’ll give us hot delicious breakfast after we’ve completed the event.

Us “Sleepers”(who will actually spend the night at the event) are responsible to raise funds by asking friends, family and others in our community to sponsor our commitment to the project as “Sleepers.” On Saturday, we will get to watch a “Faces of Homelessness” program in which individuals who have overcome their struggles will tell their stories.

All proceeds benefit SEARCH Homeless Services.

If you want to support us this weekend, visit Lach’s Sleepout Fundraising Page.

As Search says on the website, “One person can make a difference.”

Love you all, thanks for reading this far.

by Lach

While I’m motoring around Bellingham this week, I’m updating my Twitter account (@lach) quite regularly.

You really have no excuse not to be on Twitter, so either sign up now, or just follow me.

My updates are protected, but I’ll let you in, I promise.

If you have any Twitter related questions for me, feel free to ask them here.

by Lach

by Lach