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Thank all of you for keeping in touch with us here. I have moved all the old posts from this blog and will not be posting here anymore. Please see our new blog at:

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On the Move

We leave Tuesday, August 4 for adventures in North Africa. Come with us - by subscribing to our new blog at this link: http://barbuscafamily.wordpress.com/

The first post at that site will be at midnight tonight, so please stop in for a visit.

His Grace is Sufficient for Me

If you have ever moved, perhaps you are familiar with the "This is the last time..." refrain that has been playing in my head lately like a commercial jingle I just can't shake - only this one often leaves me choking back tears at bizarre moments.

Last night was BCA's annual talent show. It is always one of my favorite events of the year. I get to see students doing what they love rather than what they have been assigned, and their sense of humor reflects all those inside jokes that make working at a small school fun.

But last night, my little boy was on stage, too. As a first grader, he sang solo, accompanied by two acoustic guitars, played by a sixth grader and a senior. It was the same song he sang back in November at the Thanksgiving program, back when Tony was away in Africa and we were trusting God for direction about our future. That version was peppy and fast, and spoke hope to my heart. Last night's rendition was mellow and introspective, and coupled with the fact that this was our last BCA talent show, brought a flood of memories.

Bucharest is where we lived when I was pregnant with Marco. We brought him back here when he was just 6 weeks old, and many of his diapers were changed on the desks of BCA. How many BCA students have held him, tickled him, played on his Sit-n-Spin?

And there he was, standing on stage at Biserica Sfante Treime, singing his heart out. My God shall supply all my needs, according to His riches in glory. He shall give His angels charge over me. Jehovah Jireh cares for me. A reminder straight from heaven. How incredibly true that has been my entire life, and I refuse to doubt it now.

Overheard Over Breakfast: Take 2

Chrissy to the boys: Stop aggravating your sister. You're on thin ice.

She walks back into the kitchen.

Marco to Rocco: Thin ice?

Rocco to Marco: What does that mean?

Guess that message didn't get across. Marco knows that Kim Jong-il is the president of North Korea, and Rocco can count to 10 in three languages, but looks like it's time for a lesson in American idioms.

What He Likes Best About School

After lunch today, Tony sat with the two visiting fund-raising coaches to give them his input and the story of our time in Bucharest. As part of BCA's big push toward owning a building, these men are doing an in-depth feasibility study to see what the school's next steps ought to be.

"We went back to the U.S. for a few years after my first son, Marco, was born," Tony told them.

"Wait," said one. "So Marco is your son?"

Tony nodded. The two men smiled at each other and chuckled. Then they told this story.

Earlier this morning, they had met with selected elementary students to get their take on BCA. Unknown to either of us, Marco was in that focus group.

The men asked the students what they liked most about BCA. Marco piped up.

"I like taking tests!" he said.

"You do?" one of the men asked.

"Oh, yeah," Marco continued, "especially the hard ones. I like ancient history best."

Go get 'em, son.

Site of the Week 2: Pageonce

Since I live in Bucharest I'm always looking for ways to save time (if you don't know why you've never been to Bucharest). This weeks entry for the site of the week saves me lots of time. At first glance Pageonce looks like another start page, but it is a lot more. It is actually like a personal assistant where you can add your online accounts and access them all from one place with one secure password.

You can add banking/billpay sites, social networking sites, even add your Netflix or frequent flyer account site. There are tons of sites that you can add. When you do you just access your Pageonce site to see them all in one place.

I added all of my email accounts also so I can see my gmail, hotmail, and yahoo accounts all at once. I even added my Vonage account and my ebay account. This site saves me a lot of time.

You can check the site out to see more reviews. It was even recommended on a CNN spot about internet security. So check it out and enjoy.

Coolest Vending Machine Idea

In Bucharest, everything except McDonald's and a few gas stations is closed on New Year's Day. So feeling a bit like we just needed to get out of the apartment, we packed the kids into the van and went driving around town. It's amazing how much smaller the city seems when there is no traffic!

A few months ago, we had seen this vending machine at a gas station near school and wondered if it could possibly be for real. So with camera in hand, we took advantage of a day with nothing to do and tried the Just Fries vending machine. The fries actually came out hot and tasty! Wow!

Of course, this is Romania, so the gas station attendant came out and growled at me not to take pictures. (I might steal their idea and build my own? Or perhaps I'm studying it so I can turn it into a bomb?) But still, it was a cool experience - and one I will undoubtedly repeat, maybe even with the camera for the full effect. :)