September/early October 2011

What an amazing year we had living in Falls Church, VA with our Aunt Priscilla Ann Hoppe and cousins Deb and Cameron Hoppe!  It was such a joy and privilege to care for our sweet cousin and godson, Cam! During our time in Falls Church, a grad school colleague/friend of Bethany’s, offered us both a shared pastoral position with Peoples Church in Fresno, CA.  Our position was not to start until mid-December, so we made big plans for time of transition.  On September 10, 2011, we departed Falls Church for Wisconsin, the long way…heading south. 

Our dear friend, Matt Aldag, saw us off from our Northern Virgina/DC home. 

What a blessing it was to spend a year living near him!

 As we were packing, to leave Falls Church, Jed and Hosea got flattened by a severe stomach bug that had already made its way through Aunt P. Ann, cousin Deb, and cousin Cam.  Bethany thought she was going to escape with her breast-feeding super-immunity, but alas!, not so.  At our first stop in Durham, NC (near Duke University), visiting Sarah Stacke, Bethany got taken down by the vicious bug. We spent an extra day in NC, so Bethany could recover, and Sarah was so gracious to open her home to us in this state.  We were sad to miss her husband, Bryan, who was traveling for work. 

 After leaving NC, we headed west to Cordova (Memphis) Tennessee to visit friends, Kathryn & Bobby Jordan.  The drive was beautiful through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We also enjoyed a short visit with Bethany’s Uncle David and cousins Abigail & Anna, before meeting up with Kat & Bobby. 

Family pit stop in North Carolina

Kat & Bobby Jordan - Thanks for opening your home to us!

 From Memphis, we headed north to St. Louis, Missouri, where we spent the night.  Before heading out of town, we visited the Gateway Arch.  Jed had never been there before, and of course, it was Hosea’s first time.  We continued north from St. Louis to Bethany’s parents’ home in southeastern Wisconsin.  On the way to WI, we stopped at Lambert’s Café, “Home of the Throwed Rolls”, which is a legendary restaurant Bethany’s grandparents introduced her to in the early 90’s.  It is just as epic as Bethany remembers it from childhood! 

Under the Gateway Arch - St. Louis

Feels good to be back on Midwestern soil...corn field next to a Culver's

Little does Hosea know, at this time, that he is allergic to corn...we were in the middle of a food elimination diet.

After recouping for a few days at Bethany’s parents’ home, Team vS departed Milwaukee for a three-week trip to Ireland and Portugal.  “Why Ireland and Portugal?”, you may ask.  Well, Ireland because our dear friend, Daniel VanHoff, was getting married in Ireland on September 22, and we were thrilled to not only be invited, but to be asked to read Scripture in the ceremony.  Portugal because Bethany’s parents gifted us a week of their timeshare for our wedding, two+ years earlier, and it was time to use it!  We wanted to go somewhere neither of us had been before and Portugal happened to be a place both of us wanted to go, neither of us had been, and where RCI had timeshares.  The timeshare we chose was actually on Madeira Island, in a Portugese archipelago located 300+ miles from the African coast and 600+ miles from the European continent.  Madeira is an hour and half plane ride from Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city. 

We spent four days in Ireland before visiting Portugal: celebrating Daniel & Lydia’s wedding and visiting friends in Galway (west coast of Ireland).  We so enjoyed the gorgeous Ireland countryside and the breathtaking views from the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin.  From Galway, we headed to Dublin and flew to Lisbon, Portugal, taking a train to Coimbra, the second oldest university town in Europe.  Bethany had connected with a fellow Bethel alum and friend, Kim (Salewski) Almeida, over Facebook, while in the car on the way to the Milwaukee airport!  We had not finalized any plans in Portgual , for the front or back end of visiting Madeira Island (two days each).  We made all these plans, minutes before boarding the plane to Ireland, via Facebook, email, and international phone call.  Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of technology.  Our time in Coimbra is a highlight in both Jed and Bethany’s traveling history.  Thank you, Kim & Luis!

Daddy & Hosea photo in the beautiful Irish church

Our sweet friends - Daniel & Lydia - so happy for them!

The amazing venue!  Ireland is gorgeous!

Daniel & I share a love to fine cheeses - I was pleased at the reception, to say the least.

Hosea's favorite part of Ireland was probably the sheep, goats, and cows grazing everywhere

The unique and beautiful Doolin coast - west coast of Ireland

Quaint pub in Doolin

Cliffs of Moher - this place is spectacular, even in the rain

Arriving in Coimbra to visit Kim & Luis on the fast train from Lisbon

Luis & Kim - thanks for your hospitality and for being our tour guides!

Coimbra is an amazing city - we highly recommend visiting! 

One of our favorite pics of Hosea from the entire three week trip - we loved Coimbra!

From Coimbra, we headed to Madeira Island, where we spent seven amazing days in a gorgeous seaside hotel and beautiful island surroundings.  This week, island, and its people deserve a blog post of their own.  We have not been everywhere on the island, but “Pearl of the Atlantic”, as it is called, suits this place.  We would love to tell anyone interested more about it and highly recommend they go there!

Before sharing any of the amazing places we got to go in Madeira, we have to mention these amazing friends we met our first day in Madeira, and who made our experience unforgettable - Stephanie & Fernando and their two children.  Stephanie was our Madeira tour guide, giving her time, automobile/gas, knowledge of the island, and friendship to us the entire week.  THANK YOU STEPHANIE & FERNANDO!

Arriving at our hotel for the week - Royal Orchid

The seaside view of our hotel

From this amazing place, we had a breathtaking view of the capital city, Funchal.

You can take a cable car or drive to the town of Monte (500 meters above the main city of Funchal).  From here, you can take a "carro de cesto", their famous wicker toboggan rides.  We didn't take one ourselves, but had fun watching them.

Our water baby!

Pool side snacking was a daily activity

We rented a car one day while in Madeira and drove around the entire center, northern, western, and southern parts of the island.  It was one of the most memorable parts of the trip. 

Natural swimming pools along the coast at Porto Moniz

The public pool, created out of the natural pools

Portugal national soccer uniform...to grow into...

Stephanie & Fernando invited us over for a home-cooked, delicious meal of authentic Brazilian food = YUM!

Hiking the cliffs at Canical - the very northeastern part of Madeira

Our friend, Stephanie, drove us up to Pico do Arieiro - Altitude of 1810 meters (3rd highest peak on Madeira)

From Madeira we flew back to Lisbon for one night.  Bethany’s mom gifted us a night at an amazing hotel she researched and found online, since we hadn’t planned ahead.  As a result, we got a memorable experience of the Portuguese bus system and a completely relaxing day at a nearly empty “executive” hotel, complete with poolside service, all to ourselves.  We didn’t realize how much we needed this oasis in the middle of a busy trip. 

While baby naps on a lawn chair, Mama & Daddy get the rare opportunity to sunbathe TOGETHER! Amazing!

We left Lisbon and flew back to Dublin, Ireland and then took a bust to Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Daniel and Lydia were back from their honeymoon and it was so wonderful to get to spend some time with them and see their life in Belfast.  Carlos and Andi Fernandez, missionaries with Christian Associates, and long-time friends of Bethany’s from Vanguard, graciously opened their home to us, even though they were on furlough in the States. 

With all our air travel, Jed became an expert at changing Hosea in the tiny airplane bathroom - he could even take a picture while doing it...that's talent.

The Belfast Farmer's Market - so wonderful!

Getting a walking tour of the beautiful sites of Belfast

So many cool pubs in Ireland

Cold, rainy Ireland day - visiting Giant's Causeway with our dear friends

Giant's Causeway is incredible!

The town of Bushmills is about 3 miles from Giant's Causeway.  The Bushmills Inn is a very famous point of interest.

Say "YES" to this Irish Breakfast BUFFET!

We were all about the Irish "Fry"

SO wonderful to see Daniel & Lydia's world in Belfast!

von Steinblogs Break is Over

We did not intentionally take a break from blogging, but over the past 9+ months, we have been on the move and in a very busy time of transition.  Our blog did not take priority...it seemed easier to do occasional status and picture updates to Facebook.  We want to get back into blogging, not only to keep people informed on our lives through pictures and updates, as we live so far from many friends and family, but also to have a venue to process what we are learning, on a more personal, emotional, and spiritual level. 

We decided the best way to bring people up to speed on our life since September 2011, is to give monthly snapshots through a few pictures/videos and descriptions. We will create a blog entry for each month, so you can catch up as you have time.  Once we’re caught up to present, we’ll start making more regular posts.   WELCOME BACK TO THE TEAM vS BLOG!

We're back...and starting a new adventure!

It is hard to believe it has been more than two months since we wrote an official blog entry.  Update: We took our hard drive into a data recovery place and paid some big bucks.  They were able to recover about 80% of our data.  Most of the pictures that were unable to be recovered (probably 18%), were of our wedding and wedding receptions and we were so sad at the thought of losing them.  After hearing about our loss of pictures, Jed's Uncle Harvey remembered that he had some pictures of ours on his computer from a slide show we did at our Washington, D.C. wedding reception in May of 2009.  When Uncle Harvey copied the pictures of the slide show onto his computer, he "accidentally" copied ALL of our wedding pictures to his computer.  SO, he was able to give us all of those files.  What a miracle!  The process we went through of surrendering six years of digital images, not sure if we would get them back, was a difficult process.  God refined our character big time!

I think the best way to summarize all the things that have happened in our lives since our last blog post, 2 months ago, is in a bulleted list.  

• 7-9-11: Celebrated Hosea's 1st birthday with family and friends in the backyard of our cousin and aunt's home.  It was such a fun time.  Hosea got a soccer ball from his cousin Cam, which he has already learned to dribble...like father, like son.  

Birthday party Popsicles

Hosea's gift from Mama & Daddy - a scooter-type bike & helmet

• 7-10-11: Went to a Bela Fleck concert at Wolf Trap with Cousin Deb & Cousin Cam - so fun!  

Mom + snacks + being outside with Cousin Hosea = Happy Cameron

Hosea is overwhelmed by how amazing the music is

• 7-11-11: Hosea turns one!  We love this little guy more and more each day.

Hosea is clapping because he loves being one!

• 7-15-11: Celebrated Cousin Kari's birthday in Maryland with a BBQ and sailing...probably the most gorgeous day of summer we experienced on the East Coast!

Happy Birthday, Kari!

Family snuggles in the hammock

Jed & Cousin Scott getting the boat ready to sail

• 7-17-11: Jed takes me on an amazing 31st birthday date (few days early, as my b-day is 7-20) - we ate some delicious Asian cuisine and played skee ball and shuffle board. 

Birthday love!

• 7-20-11: Bethany turns 31!  She is served breakfast in bed by Daddy and Hosea and celebrates over a delicious family dinner with Cousin Deb & Cam.
• 7-28-11: Trip to the Reston Zoo with Deb & Cam - the kids loved it and the parents got quite a kick out of the safari ride.

Zebras and bison and CAMELS...oh my!

• 8-3-11: Nationals Game with Deb & Cam - We got rained on for a portion of the game, but the kids had a blast.  The stadium is really nice and we had amazing seats in left field, where the boys could wander around, eat snacks, clap, and dance to the organ music.

Ready to head into the park

Only in Washington, D.C. would you find "President Races" around the field.  Hosea is a little afraid of Teddy.

Enjoying our empty section in the outfield

• 8-7-11: Trip to Sky Meadows State Park - I have mentored/discipled two girls from The Falls Church over the past 6+ months.  We had a little outing and picnic together, which was really fun.

At the top

•  8-8-11: Hosea is learning to feed himself.  He likes to say, "I do."  He's a little messy, but he's doing a good job for being less than 13 months old.

Our messy boy won't stop moving, so it is hard to capture a clear picture

• 8-8-11: Hosea is OBSESSED with water - drinking it and playing in it (pool, bathtub, sprinkler, toilet, dog dishes).  I had no idea that squirting my son with a hose with give him so much enjoyment.

This little boy is the cutest EVER!

Happiness

Snuggles with Mama...getting dried off

• 8-12-11: Theater in the Woods production at Wolf Trap with Deb & Cam - Wolf Trap is such an amazing outdoor venue and is very kid friendly.

View from the back of the outdoor theater

• 8-13-11: Day Trip to Westmoreland State Park and George Washington's birthplace

Future president???  Learning from Mr. Washington

Gorgeous hike at Westmoreland State Park

Enjoying the beautiful view and trying to keep the baby asleep in the Ergo carrier

• 8-15-11:  Cousin fun!  After Hosea and Cam get sprayed by the hose in the yard, they enjoy a warm bath.  These boys LOVE each other so much.

Bath time is the best!

• 8-16 - 8-21-11: Our cousins from MN visit - Jeremy & Sarah Hedlund and their three daughters and Jess & Ben Kubicek and their two sons visit.  We enjoy meals together, a game night, and time sightseeing D.C.

Leaving the Jefferson Memorial and headed for the Washington Monument

Our son is so patriotic

Good meal after a day of sightseeing

Big family dinner and game night

• 8-21-11: First experience of Kenyan cuisine with our dear friend, JoEl - JoEl is one of our most special friends from Falls Church.  We feel so thankful to have gotten to spend time with him and this day was extra special, as he took us to Swahili Village, the only restaurant he knows of in the area that serves authentic Kenyan food.  We ate goat for the first time.  The food was delicious!

Clean plate club - the food was so yummy!

• 8-24-11: Trip to Baltimore Aquarium with the Lorah family - we never got a chance to get up to Philly to visit our dear friends, the Lorah's.  So, we met halfway in Baltimore to celebrate their daughter's b-day at the aquarium.

Group shot after visiting the aquarium

• 8-25 - 8-28-11: Trip to Rhode Island beach to spend time with our friends, the Beckwith's.  We were so thankful to be invited to spend a few days with the Beckwith's (who traveled from Vermont) at a beach cabin in Rhode Island.  Our trip got cut a bit short because of Hurricane Irene, but we still had such a sweet time.

This baby loves the beach...probably because WATER is there. 

We LOVE the Beckwith family!

Dinner at Mystic Pizza..."THE" Mystic Pizza

• 9-1-11: Baltimore Orioles Game with Cousin Deb, Cousin Cam, and the Ensor family - the Ensor's were able to hook us up with some stadium suite tickets.  We had such a fun time!

Thank you, Ensor family!  We had such a fun time at the game!

The kiddos LOVED playing inside the suite.

• 9-5-11: Trip to the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial with our friend, JoEl 

A rainy day, but we had a good time together

MLK Jr. - what an amazing leader!

• 9-7-11: Our last family dinner at 103 S. Cherry St. in Falls Church, VA - family dinners have been one of our favorite parts of the last year.

Always amazing food and great time with family

• 9-8 & 9-9-11: Packing all our belongings to leave Falls Church, VA

Packing up

• 9-10-11: Leave Falls Church, VA and headed for our new home....FRESNO, CA!  

We have begun a very round about and long road trip to Fresno, CA.  Jed and I will be sharing a pastoral position at a church there beginning in December.  Since leaving Virginia on 9-10, we have been to Durham, NC, Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, MO.  We arrived at my parents' house in Hartland, WI on Friday, September 16.  Today, September 20th, we leave for a three week trip to Ireland and Portugal.  We arrive back in Wisconsin on October 11th.  We will then road trip to Seattle, where all our belongings are.  We'll spend several weeks there relaxing at Jed's mom's vacation home, before heading to Fresno.  We will update more later, but wanted to give an overview of the last two months and let you know what you can expect in future blogs.  Team vS is beginning another adventure!