Thursday, March 22, 2007

Another week...

... has come and is almost gone...time just flies by too fast!! My days just seem to go quickly when my morning is consumed by being the teacher to six kids and then my afternoon is full of cleaning, baking, cooking, and the many other things I find to do. In the afternoon the kids usually play outside for several hours and we have had some beautiful sunny days that are so inviting for outdoor play. Right now the snow machine has been the big attraction as the boys pull all the younger kids around in the sled behind the snow machine, and occasionally Ann Marie joins them and gets quite the thrill of a ride!! Steve has been busy in the afternoons clearing more of the dead trees off of our property, which he says gives him lots of exercise and gives the kids something to do by hauling logs to our log pile. We will have plenty of wood for our Sunday evening picnics this summer!! While Steve is clearing all the trees we are also seeing more and more of our emerging view...the mountains across the inlet are so beautiful jutting above the treetops!

As life continues on a somewhat normal schedule, our friends Joe and Jennifer Germain are packing and going through boxes to get ready for their big move to the Philippines. Jenn will be going to a midwifery school in Davao while Joe homeschools and takes care of their seven children. They will be leaving May 2 and I get to go with them to help with the move! I will get to stay with them for a little over a week in Davao, then I will go back to Manila and spend a few days with my uncle Randy and aunt Marla before I fly home May 15. (I haven't been back to the Philippines in 16 years!) We are excited for where God is leading Joe and Jenn and what He has prepared for them, but we are also sad to see our friends go. The time we have shared over the last two years has been amazing and only God could have orchestrated! We are all looking forward to what God has next for us!

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Happy Birthday Ann Marie



...she turned 15 on Saturday!! Can't believe we have a daughter who is 15!! It is so much fun to celebrate with her and see the joy on her face of having a birthday party with family and friends who come celebrate with us. Our beautiful daughter Ann Marie is such a joy and delight, and we are so thankful that God brought us together. We are looking forward to many more birthdays together.

Happy Birthday Ann Marie



...she turned 15 on Saturday!! Can't believe we have a daughter who is 15!! It is so much fun to celebrate with her and see the joy on her face of having a birthday party with family and friends who come celebrate with us. Our beautiful daughter Ann Marie is such a joy and delight, and we are so thankful that God brought us together. We are looking forward to many more birthdays together.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Getting into the groove!

Well we made it through our first full week after our big trip...we just stuck to home and tried to get back in the groove of school! That always takes a little adjusting for everyone, but we all enjoy the structure that school provides and all the learning opportunities as well. I like this time of the school year the best because Steve gets to do some of the teaching too! He starts the morning out with pledges, Scripture memorization, a missionary story, letters from supported missionaries, prayer, and current events. I continue after that with language, math, reading, spelling, handwriting, and whatever else we fit it. Then Steve returns before lunch to do history and science. Our afternoons are filled with piano practice, personal reading time, outside play, chores, and just having fun!! Our days can get rather full, but we enjoy the time spent together as a family.

Last week we had a surprise as Alyssum lost her first tooth...she is not even 5 years old yet! A
t the breakfast table Friday morning she told me her tooth her a little, then after breakfast she came to show me that her tooth was sticking out. I looked at her tooth and saw that it was loose and a new tooth had already poked through the gums behind it. She proceeded to wiggle that little tooth all morning until Steve came in before lunch and she told him it was ready to come out. One little tug and out it came!! Alyssum is now the proud owner of a window in her mouth which her tongue is always finding its way to! I just can't believe she can already be losing her teeth...they just grow up way too fast!!!

As we begin a new week our friends Joe and Jennifer Germain and their 7 children have joined us again here at our home...well most of them anyway. Jennifer flew in from Juneau with six of their kids and Joe and Brian took the ferry to Haines to get the motorhome and continue their journey back to Homer. Bad weather had kept them in Juneau much longer than they had expected and they needed to get home to begin the packing and getting things together before they move to Davao, Philippines in May. We got word from Joe this morning that 18inches of snow has now kept him in Haines, so he will be hanging out there until the pass clears. Our kids were all so excited to see their friends again and the chatter continued all day as they caught up with each other!