George has graciously set me up on his laptop and I am thrilled to catch up on our family blog. God has sustained us during a difficult time at work and pretty much constant illness since George’s mom passed away in October.  I’d like to post a bunch of photos that highlight the fun we’ve had even during a hard time.  God is good ALL the time!

The view from Guajome National Park.

Zaccai has taught both the little boys how to use the Red Rider gun Wes got for Christmas. Its so fun to watch them grow and help each other.

Hanukkah is a special time for us as we celebrate a holiday that Jesus enjoyed.

Aravis truly enjoys her California citrus!

We enjoyed a recent trip to the snow on Palomar Mt.

Petting Zoo is still the favorite spot at the Wild Animal Safari Park.

My Mom sent loads of fresh flowers to the house. And of course the kids liked the boxes best!

The boxes were the perfect size for coffins for the two smallest kids. Zaccai and Wesley are actually carrying Tim in the other box.

Kaeli specializes in arranging the script for all their pretend play. Aravis played dead for quite some time while Kaeli recounted the adventures they had enjoyed in her lifetime.

Well, summer has been in full swing.  We had a 32nd birthday, a family vacation, many fun adventures with friends to the zoo and pool, and back to birthdays again.  Oh, and let me not forget our 2 weeks with chinese foreign exchange students.  What fun we have!

I had a big suprise birthday – and boy was I suprised.  So many people showed so much love, and get a look at these cakes!

Licking the candles – a must!

San Diego Zoo with friends.

Hiding out with Gini.

Dining in style at the Amerling residence.

We had so much fun with these three 13 year old girls.  They played so well with the kids and I hope we will keep up our contact with them across the globe.

Playing poker with Tom and Carrot, these are their English names for summer school. 

Hannah is 10 today.  She enjoyed a waffle breakfast and opening a few gifts and then a trip to the mall with mommy.  I love that we still hold hands as we walk through the mall. These are precious times.

We have enjoyed summer in its various forms… Sea World, Ladies Retreats, and birthdays.  Here are a few pictures of our adventures.

Maybe some day I’ll make a whole photo album of picutes taken in front of the bathroom…. maybe.

This was my Thirty-twoth birthday party.  George decorated “under the sea” theme and made a fish cake.

Feel the love, and the heat!

George – best thing about every day for me.

Kaeli – endless entertainment!

Seriously – the fun never stops.

TROUBLE.  Most heard around the house, “We didn’t MEAN to!”

Everybody got a new piggy bank to go with our new family initiative.  In this picture they are all decorating their plastic jars.  Commision: when you get paid for the work you do. We are trying to teach our kids that hard work pays off so we got $100 in quarters and are systematically passing them out as they complete extra chores.  Some things just must be done ’cause you live here, but our cars are enjoying the extra attention and for $2 its a steal of a cleaning.

Hannah learns to deep clean the windows – for 25cents. I told you its just an idea we’re trying to pass on.  They’re technically not “fair” wages. Still, she is super motivated and I can see the backyard again from the kitchen.

The kids are excited to finish school this week. We are pushing through and enjoying the last bits of the roman empire, a biography of Isobel Kuhn, and some fun science movies about the most dangerous animals on each continent. I’ m pretty sure we are in the bonus lessons of math and grammar but I won’t tell if you don’t.  Its fun to see them hash out new concepts, many of which are very practical. 

Hannah got an A-line bob which is very cute on her but was quite a shock for me… especially since I was the one who cut her hair.  Watching seven inches fall to the ground gave me a full on panic attack so we finished up our style at the beauty shop.  I was just so afraid of messing it up but realized I was doing fine once we got to the salon.  I really just prefer trimming hair not big style changes.  Someday I might take some classes I would definitely put the knowledge to good use.

Aravis is getting so big and we keep hearing the older kids muse that our family seems so small and someone must be missing even though we’re all here. People at church are having dreams that we are expecting again….. I  on the other hand am fully enjoying this new phase and am thrilled to be out of diapers and dashing to the restrooms at every grocery store. Okay, thrilled is pushing it but the idea that we are  on the cusp of a new era is exciting.  Oh the adventures to have, maybe a family mission trip at some point.

I was wedged between these two.  Its about the only way to really get them to sleep, apart from taking them to the pool for the day.  Wesley is growing into a little boy and his little personality is really starting to show.  He does everything perfectly and fully.  The eraser is his best friend during school work and he reads each sentence over and over perfecting his diction and intonation till he feels he’s captured the author’s objective.  Drives me nuts since I’m the queen of “good enough”, but this is who he is and I’m learning to be patient and guide him gently into productivity.

The guys are really getting into science and I love biology so I think this summer we’ll have some creature fun.  Our King snake and Leopard gecko are both doing well.  I’m afraid my living room is beginning to smell like the reptile store but I’ll just air it out and not buy so many crickets at a time.

George and I have been getting up together around 5 on and off for the past few months.  He sets the coffee up the night before and we enjoy a few minutes, sometimes more, of quiet in Scripture before embarking on the days adventures.  New small groups start this week and it is such an encouragement to continue healthy habits that help us stay in love with Jesus.   I am taking the Intro to Ministry class that George is teaching at Escondido Bible School and am really appreciating the way my ideas of ministry are being challenged by scriptural truth.  And this is after only one class!  A prerequisite is to take strength finders2.0 and a spiritual gifts inventory, we will all get name tags that list our top strengths and gifts and will be forming teams for different ministry endeavors. I am so excited to see how God uses the 20 some folks that are willing to take what God has given them and dream big together. And what a  change from throwing warm bodies into some event to forming well thought out teams that maximize out strengths and gifts. Ooooh, fun!

Aravis has officially potty-trained. HOORAY!

Kaeli is enjoying her cosmetology course

Her work is amazing! Notice how fresh and young he looks with his fake hair

He will outgrow this

Our baby garden is nearly ready for the dirt

Sophia the California King Snake... lost and found

Wesley has mastered reading in the past few weeks. It is so fun to be a part of!

Pictures are worth a thousand words so here’s a novel!

Zaccai has been watching a swarm of honey bees in the front yard... tempting us to investigat bee keeping

The tree fort in progress

The finished fort, well mostly finished

even in the rain they are enjoying it

we rearraged sleeping quarters and cleaned out the toy bins

The kids making staffs for their karate class with daddy

Daniel is a little boy we sponsor in Ethiopia through International Child Care Ministries.  For $25 a month we get to help Daniel receive an education, food, clothing and medical care.  We write letters and send pictures and he writes back.  We can’t change the entire world but we can change this young boy’s life.

Happy Easter!  We enjoyed many festivities during holy week and have now crashed as we quietly rest for our family sabbath.  We were wrapped up in the fun of the moment and didn’t take any pictures of our fabulous family-friendly Seder dinner on Thursday…. but it was beautifully decorated by a team of fun and gifted gals.  Good Friday service was powerful!  I got to sing in a quartet and it only added to the depth of the evening, for me anyway.  Sunday  we had a sunrise service and I fixed breakfast burritos and potatoes and fruit and muffins….. what can I say, we like to hang out and eat.  Some folks stayed and chatted till our 9am egghunt and Discipleship classes then we celebrated together at 10 for a big service.  Afterward we had a ham dinner with 15 pounds of potatoes with six cups of cheese sauce and 12 heads of romaine lettuce.  Yes we had enough food.  Oooh I almost forgot the 96 cupcakes, so glad to have our oven back in working order.   

God sent a new couple to our church this week that stayed and washed all the dishes, washed the counters and even mopped the kitchen floor.  After being there for 6 hours I was ready to take off my heels and go home. So thankful that God know when to send us an extra boost.  George and I are both sniffly so we’re taking two days to recover.  It’s more fun to be  sick together.

Here is an assortment of pictures.  We’ve been doing school and hatching butterflies and making cookies with friends.  And dressing up, of course.

Okay, quick story about this week. I cut Zaccai’s hair.  He asked me to, really!  I just didn’t look at the picture that he had been referring to as per the length he wanted it to be.  Memory failed me and he came back teary eyed with the big family picture off the wall.  “This hair cut is not that hair cut.  I am saving my money and I’m not getting another haircut until I can pay to do it at the hair cut shop.”  I knew he’s get used to his shorter style but was sad he was sad and laughing (on the inside) at his “haircut shop” terminology.  But I guess since he’s never been he might not know its called a barber.

We had four parties in two days.  On Saturday we headed to a jiu-jitsu student’s birthday party.  What a sweet set up they have – all natural pond, their own beach and a motor cross track!  Then Saturday night we hung out with some friends from church.  Sunday was Palm Sunday followed by a quick dash to a birthday party at Pump-it-Up (we didn’t get to stay though) and then to another jiu-jitsu student’s birthday party where all the kids were transformed into exotic animals and pretend characters!

Your Own Personal Pond

... to go with your own personal beach!

How about your own Zoo? ... Kaeli makes a great cat!

This kitty won't bite!

But this exotic Wesley-Tiger might!

Spiderman will save you, though!

Along with Flower-Girl!

Who took getting her face painted very seriously.

Our Friend Reuben the Tiger!

And Alyssa the Princess.

Finally, Queen Susan!

Recently we enjoyed the San Diego Safari Park, some mud baths and the beginning of our visit with Grandmama and Auntie Leandra. Hannah got bifocals last week and is ADORABLE!

Wesley is counting down the hours till his birthday.  He has some friends coming over after church for a big boy party and then Monday is his true birthday.  Last year his birthday was on Easter Sunday so this year is a bit more relaxed.

Very rejuvinating for the skin.

The right tools are necessary to clean up from this kind of big fun!

Kaeli’s reading has taken off and she read this whole chapter book in one sitting with Zaccai. I love how even as a beginning reader she uses her voice to bring the characters to life. This series is hilarious and the two of them kept cracking up as they read it together.

Good reading seems to have a generational tie here, this is the beginning of a book Grandma was reading. By the end all the kids were gathered around listening to every word.

Leandra is having a ball with all our active children. Its so nice to have some hang out time as she is straddling the fence with one foot in her childhood and one in adulthood.  We need eachother as we figure out who we are and how life works.