Micaela: "I can fly!" -- Bubba: "I can't watch."

Bubba plays rainy day.

Daddy talks to Bubba about pink purses.

Gabey hard at work.

It's very late Sunday night and Becky and I have finally finished the papers that were due tonight. Becky spent all day yesterday and today on the computer trying to finish up. The kids are well. They played most of the day today. Micaela is quickly approaching 4 years old and showing every bit of it. She has begun to try to reason her way out of work and punishment. She is actually pretty good at it. But that only makes it harder for us. Nathaniel has been working very hard at his communication skills. He has been expressing himself well and is using a variety of verbs or phrases. Gabriel loves to pray at the dinner table and has become quite good at it. I suspect it has to do with the food coming immediately after the "amen". On our way back from San Antonio we drove right through the middle of an enormous thunder storm. Lightning was flashing about 3-4 times a second and at the height of the storm it was hailing marble sized hail. Needless to say I prayed the whole way through that one. Actually, I told Becky that it was just God's response to my prayers that I would not fall asleep driving home. It sure kept me awake. Micaela played with her friend Davalynn the whole time we were in San Antonio. They were pretty, pretty princesses. Bubba and Gabe found the tractors, and Becky and Ian stayed up way too late talking with friends we met back in langauge school. It was a good trip.

Blessing for the week:
I bless you with a reverential fear of God and the ability to highly respect the Lord. Then you will be happy and find great delight in keeping God's commands. You will not be afraid of people-either great or small- or of what they say or do against you. Circumstances will never shake you from your foundation as long as you fear the Lord and obey His Word. I bless you with great skill in hating those things that God hates- a prideful spirit, a lying tongue, an unruly mouth, and evil thought. His banner will be displayed over you because you recognize that He is the God of truth and righteousness. Psalm 25:12-14; 60:4; 128:1 Deuteronomy 5:29 Proverbs 6:16-19

We love you all

Hey everyone. We've been in San Antonio since Thursday evening to see my cousin Adam graduate from Air Force Basic Training. He was very proud of himself, and so are we! He'll be going to Sheppard AFB for training, and we're hoping we can visit him there in May or June. We probably won't be very active on the blog till next week because we are both completing term papers and getting ready for finals. I can't wait till it's OVER!!! We didn't have our camera ready to take pictures with Adam, so I'll have to get some from his mom to post later. In the mean time, listen to an audioclip that someone sent to me. It's a recorded message from the SBC, and Ian and I think it's awesome. LOTS of food for thought...Click on Voddie Bauchum

We love you, and we'll be back soon.

More Rain!

Bubba's Harley

Play-dough time.

Peanut butter is gooooood!

I know all you southerners must think me odd, but anytime it rains in the desert is cause to celebrate. Becky has been very busy working on her term papers for college. Pray for us that we finish strong. Finals are in a week and a half. Becky and the kids went to a playgroup today at a friends house. They had a wonderful time. When I got home today our neighbor gave me a date tree from his backyard. I was thrilled so I immediately went to the backyard and with the help of Nate & Gabe we planted it just before it began raining. Now we'll see how long it lasts before one of the monkeys tries to swing from it. Becky has finally finished cutting out the 1,327,492 felt characters she purchased for felt board lessons. They look like fun. She can't wait to teach with them. The kids are learning all about the jungle and jungle animals this week. Feel free to call and make gorilla sounds or elephant calls. The kids would love it.

Every Sunday our church takes a few minutes to bless the children. All the adults take a child in hand or lay their hands on them and someone leads us in praying a blessing over them. I have been trying to do this regularly and would like for anyone who wants to take the time to do this also. I have a book that guides parents through the process until they are comfortable doing it on their own so I will post a blessing from there so that we all can be praying for the same thing. I trully believe that grandparents, aunts and even great aunts have an important role in the development of our children. Praying is one of the most powerful things you can do for these kids. Micaela will not let me forget to bless her before she goes to bed every night.

Obedience: I bless you with a submissive spirit that will joyfully and willingly obey the commands of God. Be careful to obey God's laws and do not turn from them to the right or the left that you may be successful wherever you go. May the word of God not depart from you mouth, but may you meditate on it day and night and be careful to do according to all that is wwritten in it. Then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:7-8 Psalm 1:1-6; 25:10 Proverbs 6:20-23 Isaiah 1:19

One more thing, we are taking a vote for naming the new boy. What do you all think about Asher? It means happy!

Monday

The little ballerina.

Momma and Mocha

What the boys think of ballet day.

Becky made it home safely from her retreat Sunday night. She had a wonderful time. She said it was the best one she has been to yet. The kids were thrilled that she came home. They would not let her out of their sight for the night. Gabriel clung to her and played with her hair the whole time. The chocolate puppy (Donna's puppy) was the first to open her eyes today. They are growing rapidly and looking very cute. I finished my term paper on wastewater management last night, only two more to go. Becky took me out to dinner to an Italian restaurant tonight. She surprised me with a babysitter and we were able to have a nice date together. We went to a new Italian restaurant that had taken over a building that was previously a Chinese buffet. We could still smell the chinese food and the atmosphere hadn't changed much, but we both agreed that it was the best Italian food we have had in a long time. We then walked off the pasta by strolling through the mall. The kids played with costumes the whole time we were gone. Micaela dressed up as Cinderella, Nathaniel was Gus Gus the fat little mouse, and Gabriel was the cat who's name I have forgotten. The babysitter got to be the wicked step-mother. I don't have pictures of this, but it was very humurous to see Nathaniel running around the house in a mouse costume with a very pretty pink tail and little round ears on the top of his head. I will post some old pictures up since I don't have any new ones. We are all pretty exhausted. We love you all.

Day Two...

Yes, Daddy did the hair.

CYCLE!

What! It's just strawberry.

A rest from the nature walk.

Playtime at the sandbox.

The gang before the walk.

What a long day. I woke up at 3:00 am to try to finish a research paper that is due tomorrow. Still haven't finished it yet. The kids were wonderful today. We went for a nature walk this morning and Micaela and Nathaniel collected flowers and rocks. Gabriel walked the entire way, not straight, but he still walked. After the walk the kids played in the backyard. We finally filled up the sand box again and they thought it was great. I even have sand in my hair to prove it. Somehow Nathaniel managed to throw sand (a big NO-NO) right when I was bent over helping Micaela. I received a sand shower. They played until lunch and then had a picnic in the backyard. They have even cleaned up their toy room twice today. Micaela has asked several times where momma was and when will she be back. Bubba cried for momma, but only after he was spanked. Well, the boys are in bed now and I promised Micaela that I would read her a book before she goes to bed.

We love you all.

Day One..

Bubba on the panflute.

Story time with Micaela.

The thoughtful flutist.

Well Becky left this morning for her Above Rubies retreat and so far all is well at home. After I dropped Becky off at her ride I drove all over town learning about where our water comes from and I even visited the wastewater reclamation site. Most of the people I was talking to were very helpful, but didn't have what I was looking for.

Today after dinner we had music hour. I got down the box of "noise makers" and my guitar and we all played "music" together. After a while my fingers started to hurt so we played music from the computer and danced in the kitchen. The kids loved it.

Becky called from the retreat and said that she is having a good time. She met someone who also speaks Hebrew and has been enjoying the speaking practice.

We love you all.

A Rainy Day

Gabey the mountaineer.

Gabey the Ham.

Handsome Man!

Tada!

Rain! It rained for five hours straight today. Today Micaela and Momma baked a peanut butter cake. Momma had promised Micaela that if she worked really hard at her reading leasson she could bake a cake. Micaela is learning all about the silent "e". Nathaniel and Gabriel have been exercising their climbing skills lately. Gabriel is quite the climber. Nathaniel is also good, but a little scary to watch. Nathaniel was so impressed with his tie that he wore on Sunday that he has been wearing it around the house for fun. Momma is heading off to her Above Rubies retreat tomorrow. Daddy is excited, Momma always brings back something good to eat, or at least a recipe that sounds really good. This will be the first time she goes without a baby, in her arms that is. Daddy is having fun learning all about wastewater management and is trying to set up a tour so he can go look at the local water treatment facility. Who knew dirty water could be so fascinating? We hope that you all are doing well. Bye for know.

One more...

I forgot to share these photos... Everyone's play house should get a daily coat of paint right?

Our morning...

Proud of her stars!
Nathaniel happy with a good breakfast.
Oops! He missed his mouth..
Gabriel likes the cows!
Micaela is making sure he learns his A..

This morning I made biscuits. I told Micaela I'd like her to help me cut the dough, and she took off running. She returned as quick as could be with her play kitchen cookie cutter, a star. So we made star biscuits. She did a very good job rolling out the dough and cutting the biscuits. She was proud of the breakfast she made, and she perfectly intends for us to make a "nice, hot soup so we can eat our biscuits with it at lunch. Oh mommy, wouldn't that be lovely!" she said. Micaela has adopted a British accent. I guess we've listened to too many British classics like Tales of Beatrix Potter, the Narnia series, Black Beauty, Little Lord Fauntleroy, the Wind in the Willows, and the Secret Garden. She does it about half the time, and sometimes she'll start in mid-sentence. It's very funny.
The boys enjoyed their biscuits too, and after breakfast we did a short lesson on our weekly theme. It's cows right now. Gabriel is so excited by any sight of a cow. He's eating up all the pictures in the book and loving the songs/poems we're doing each day. He also likes to say cow and moo and show me the photos. Nathaniel is learning about the square, the number one, and the short sound of the letter A. He has enjoyed the word calf. Honestly, though they are much more intersted in going outside or playing blocks and trains.
Micaela loves the books about milk and ice cream and an interesting story about a vet who visits an old milk cow. Her reading and writing are progressing well. She's moved through blends/digraphs to long vowels this week. She's able to read Early Readers by herself, and she's attempting to read all the library books by herself. Her writing is moving more slowly, but the improvement is more drastic. She's excited because we're going to start first grade math/grammar after she turns 4. I don't think it's anything too difficult for her, and I really think she'll enjoy it since it involves felts, storyboards, cards, poems, and coloring.
Well really, I just wanted to share some more photos. The boys are in bed for a nap already (it's 10:00 am) and I've got to get lunch ready so that we'll get to ballet on time this afternoon.

Our little chocolate girl...

This is the smaller red and white female..

Here's the buff and white boy..

Puppies!

This is the largest pup, a red and white female.

Well, here are the photos of our puppies. We have two red and white females, a buff and white male, and a solid chocolate female. Donna is taking the chocolate girl when we go home this summer (if we get to go home this summer!) It's hard to see the buff's coloring on the pictures, but I think he'll be pretty. One of the girls looks like she's developing some ticking (spots) like the father had, but they won't grow all the way in for a while. We'll keep you updated. They had their dew claws removed and tales docked today. It was pretty traumatic. They're growing well and they'll be ready for new homes on June 8.

Easter Sunday 2006

Hello Everyone! I hope that this forum allows us to keep everyone up to date on our family, and that it makes it easier for our extended family to keep up with the kids. Please respond so that we can read the messages to the kids.

Anyway, today we got up early and dressed the kids in Nana's Easter presents. Nathaniel loved being dressed up, and Micaela didn't think she was complete without make-up and a gold necklace. Gabriel just wanted his shoes- he hates to be left out! We went to the city park and took several pictures. The flowers were all in bloom already, it's 97 degrees today, and tomorrow we're supposed to hit 100! After the pictures we went to church and had a great service. The kids brought home 'tastey tomb' cookies which daddy gladly 'shared.'

The four puppies we have left are doing fine. The little black male died on Friday, and we held a funeral for him behind our fence. The rest are starting to wag their tails while they nurse. It's so 'adorable' as Micaela says.

Well, I guess I better go and post some pictures. The natives are restless!