Missions

The GO Missions Conference was at our home church this week. We were so blessed to meet many missionaries and speak with them about there experience in the field. Last October Brian went to Costa Rica with a team of friends from our Bible Fellowship class and had a great experience. On Friday night we had the opportunity to have dinner with missionaries Mike and Kathy Kemper from Costa Rica, the same missionaries that Brian and the team assisted in October 2008. As an added bonus, Pastor Jamie (the pastor of the church they were helping) also came. It was such a blessing to meet and speak with each one of these people.

Brennan and Aaron were excited to meet them as well. The boys had the opportunity to meet Pastor Jamie on Saturday while Brian played soccer with him at a pick-up game at our church. They also had the opportunity to meet missionaries Mike and Kathy on Sunday night at the missions fair. They were so excited to go around to all the booths and talk with the missionaries but the Costa Rica booth was their favorite. Even though there is a language barrier between us and Pastor Jamie you can not mistake friendship and Christ's love in another person.

There is something special about Mike and Kathy Kemper and well as Pastor Jamie! We can't wait to go back down to Costa Rica this year and continue Christ's work. I am definitely going to work on my Spanish!! I want to be able to communicate with Pastor Jamie and his family and especially to the Costa Rican people!

Si' Christo te amo!

GO and tell others about Jesus!

Fun with Nana and Papa

We had a great weekend with Nana and Papa. The boys just love it when there grandparents visit. We went to Bush Gardens, played in the yard and Nana and Papa took the boys to Mellow Mushroom (the boys favorite place to eat!) for Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today we have been preparing for Nana and Papa to arrive. The boys have vaccumed, cleaned the windows, picked up their rooms and swept the porch. They are so helpful and they absolutely love doing it! I only hold on to this moment because I can't imagine it lasting forever! : )

We have been making Valentine's all week. We made them for a school party, the nursing home and today they diligently worked on Nana and Papa's Valentines. They are so excited about their visit! As I type this I hear my youngest (who is suppose to be napping) talking to himself in the hallway. He can hardly wait! He is afraid they are going to get here and he will be asleep.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!

Stuck in the Muck

Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day! We set out, after church, to nearby park with our canoe in tow. We loaded our canoe with the essentials...cooler, food bag, fishing poles and bait, beach pails and shovels, a blanket and frizbee. Do you think we had enough? - HA! We launched our canoe and paddled across the bay to our own little private island!


We had the beach all to ourselves. It was great! After enjoying the beach together some, Brian and the boys set off in the canoe and left me on the island with my blanket, book and some food. It was fabulous. The boys paddled out and cast their poles!
And not to long after that....Aaron caught his first fish! He was so excited!
O.K. -- Are you wondering where the MUCK comes in? Well --- we left our house today with the intention of just going to have a fun family day. Did we check the tides? NO! Oh well....when we started paddling back across the bay we noticed that where we were going was just mud. We decided to paddle around to the other side and still go stuck. At one point Brian got out and was pulling us across the muck. I felt like a queen being pulled across the river! It did not last long though. :) Brian soon asked me to roll up my pants and get out of the canoe. The romance was over - HEHE! We both had to step quickly because the mud was very squishy and in some parts DEEP!
There were lots of people watching us as we trudged through muddy muck. We had one couple come and tell us how much we made them laugh and think about their children and grandchildren getting in the same predicament. I am glad we helped someone laugh that day! We sure were laughing! We had a great family adventure!

The boys loved cleaning up the canoe when we got home! I hope that enthusiasm last a while!

A great quote...

This really spoke to me in my quiet time this morning. I should say God really spoke to me....here is a quote by Luci Swindoll that I thought I would share:

"There are occasions when my perfectly laid plans don't work for me. Why? Interruptions! Unexpected delays. Circumstances out of my control. That's when I have to make a choice --either lose my mind (and my decorum!), or look beyond my puny plan and see if God has something different or even better in store."

Of course God has something better in store! What am I thinking?? I am so glad God is in control and not me. Enjoy the day that God has planned for you!

Fun with Classical Conversations

What a great day at school yesterday! We love our Classical Conversations group (which is a group that enhances our school at home). Yesterday we had a great time in art, science and presentations----oh, and of course learning our new grammar! : )

We learned about the artist Wyeth and Georgia O'Keefe the past two weeks and then did a great science experiment that had to do with chemical reactions and the effects. Watch the video and see how the kids just loved it!

Thanks Dad! Our tree house is fun!

Brian has finished the tree house (at least the rock wall and zip line!) The boys LOVE it! The parents...LOVE it! Yes, we have fun on the zip line and rock wall too. Here are a couple of videos of the boys coming down the zip line. The rock is 8 feet tall. Loads of fun! Good job Dad! You are the best!