Reality Check....

Just in case you were beginning to think we are always happy in our house....

Benji Quotes

Yesterday morning we had oatmeal for breakfast.  Here's Benji sitting in his chair....

Here's what I was hearing while I ate.

"Where's Titi, Mommy?"  (Titi is his Aunt)

"Where's Feth, Mommy?"  (Seth is his good friend that's almost exactly his age!)

"Where's Jozie, Mommy?" (Jozie is his brother, who happened to still be sleeping at 8 am!)

"Where's Mai Organ, Mommy?"  (Our neighbors are Mallory and Morgan)  :)

"Hee Haw donkey says"  (Now where did that come from??)



He's a goof ball!

Birthday Motorcycle Rides

One of the events of Kars' birthday was going for a motorcycle ride.  A friend of ours left his bike with Kars for a week while he is away.  Kars is loving having a motorcycle to ride back and forth to the hangar!  On Sunday he first took me for a ride and then Benji.  I think it was the highlight of Benji's week...maybe even month!  He is constantly talking about "motor-bike with Papa", "helmet on".  He'll love that the country we are going to is full of motorcycles and we plan to get one when we get there!

Benji looks a little anxious in this picture, but he did NOT want to get off after his short ride!

Video of Jozie Laughing

Jozie laughed for the first time last week.  He's only laughed a couple times since then....but I caught it on video a couple days ago.  I love this video, not only for Jozie's laugh, but also for Benji in the background. :)  Enjoy!

Helio Solo

On April 2nd I had the chance to Solo the Helio Courier. I rode in the Helio Courier many times to and from our village as a kid. It's been a privilige to be able to fly the Helio before it will no longer be used on the field. Below is a video of my first solo in the Helio.

The joy of Opa & Oma

Kars' parents are here for a couple months.  It is a joy to have grandparents nearby, something we will be blessed with when we head overseas as well.  Here are some pictures of Jozie enjoying his Opa and Oma.

Happiness!

Comfy on Opa's lap

Loving gaze at Oma

Talking to Oma :)

Happy Birthday, Kars!

Today is Kars' birthday. He doesn't know I'm posting this on the blog...but he'll find out once it's up! :) I thought I'd share some photos from Kars' life.

1-year-old Kars

Kars and his 2 younger brothers

Kars and Andre

On a boat

Senior Trip in Bali

He's always loved motorcycles

"The proposal"

In Papua 2006

June 30, 2007

Family photo 2008

First Solo at Moody

With Oma in the Netherlands

Going to Mombasa!



Meeting Benji, June 2, 2010

A great Papa!

Papa's little monkey

Meeting Jozie, Feb. 29, 2012

BEmazing Father of 2 boys!

We love you, Kars!

Four-wheeling

Our neighbors have a four-wheeler.  Benji has been interested in it from the first day he saw it.  I finally gave in this week and said he could ask them if he could sit on it.  His DREAM come true. :)



Pure excitement!

Leaning into it...

A little growing needed to reach the pedals :)

Preparing the porter

As part of the Orientation process, I'll get the opportunity to train in the airplane I will actually fly in the field. The Pilatus Porter is a swiss built airplane built for of STOL (Short Take-offs and Landings)

Before I get to fly it, It needs to be prepared to be flown. Several Inspections are due and so the last few weeks we've been working to get it ready.

Wing stut attach points needed inspection

sprayed with a fluorescent dye and viewed under a black light should help find possible cracks.

No cracks were found

painting the inspected areas

Flashback: Window Painting

So, in starting this blog, I've been looking back through old pictures and videos.  Lots of memories.  One of the things I found were pictures of when I used to work at a daycare in Washington State.  Before getting married.  Before having kids of our own.  Some people used to say that working in a daycare is good birth-control....but that's an entirely different topic. :)

At the daycare I worked at (which no longer exists), we had big windows in the classrooms.  After working there a couple months, I discovered how much I enjoyed painting on our windows!  Maybe it's because you can easily "erase" the painting if you mess up, or maybe it's seeing it from both sides.  Whatever it was, I really enjoyed it, so when they announced a "window-painting contest" between the different teachers/classrooms, I was SO excited.  You see, I'm a bit competitive, too... :)

Here are some of my window paintings.  The last one isn't a great picture, but it was the window that won the competition. 

"Ruff" the Dog and "Nuts" the Squirrel
(don't forget this was a toddler classroom!)

"Busy Little Bugs"

"Busy Little Bugs"

"Fun in the Sun"
(I cut out the heads of all the kids in our class and then painted them onto the window,
doing what they loved best out on the playground".)

Who knows, maybe Benji and I will start painting our windows in our apartment??

Moody Aviation

Are you interested in mission aviation?  Do you know someone who hopes to be a missionary pilot?  Watch this video to hear more about the school we HIGHLY recommend.  *Let me know if you spot Kars :)

Change of plans

When we sent out our May newsletter last week, I wondered if anyone noticed that our plans have changed?  We mentioned a new departure date for when we hope to go overseas, but decided to not include a section about it.  We try to keep our newsletters brief and only one page, which makes it difficult to include all the "news" that we could share.  That was part of the reason we started this new blog...

So, what happened?  We were planning/hoping to leave this coming October for language school.  But in communicating with those overseas who we will be joining, they said it would be better for us to come in January 2013.  At first this was kind of disappointing to us.  When we've been planning and heading toward the goal of leaving in October, it's hard to hear that our "plans" have changed.  Yet, we are quickly reminded that it is not OUR plans that we want, it is GOD's.  There is no way we can see the big picture, no way we can know what would be the best time for our family to arrive in country, no way to know what our language school class would look like in October vs. February, no way to know what things we might miss Stateside if we left in October.  We trust that the ONE who does know ALL the details can direct those making the decision about when we should come.

And honestly, now that we are targeting January, I am relieved to have a bit more time...more time to spend with family and friends that we won't get to see for 3-4 years, more time for our baby to grow up and get through all his one-year check-ups and vaccines, more time to perfect potty-training (so we can go with only one in diapers and not two!), more time for GOD to prepare my heart for the changes that lie ahead.  He knows best and I am so glad I rest in HIS plan and HIS timing.

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Flashback: 4-month Benji

Here's a video I found of Benji at four months drinking from a glass.  He was so interested in doing whatever we were doing.  And now at almost 2-years-old he still is, more than ever.  The other night he tried drinking Dr. Pepper from Kars' can that was on the table....

"Just a regular day in the neighborhood..."

Perfect fit!

Brothers just chillin'

Our neighbors whom we love

The cutest baby around

Aviation Orientation :)

Benji and his bud

These 2 can entertain each other for a LONG time!

Hanging out on our front porch

Happy Boy!

Brothers Video

Here's a sweet video showing Benji welcoming his new brother when he was 1-day-old.

Benji Quotes

Benji loves to give kisses.  Whenever he gives a kiss he says, "Mwah".  That was probably picked up from his Mama...

A couple months ago he gave Mama a kiss, walked across the room and gave Papa a kiss, then gave his baby brother Jozie a kiss, then said, "Benji kiss" and kissed himself on the arm, "Mwah!"  :)

First picture of a Benji kiss- 5-months-old

Kissing Aunt Linda

Kissing new baby brother Jozie