The Powell Family

Owen, my "Little Man"

2009-08-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

If you want to catch up on my blog... I just posted 8 new posts, this is the last one, so start at "My poor poor neglected blog" Enjoy!

No words needed... he is just so dang good looking! :-)
(I admit, I might, might.... be a little biased)

Kaitlyn goes to Kindergarten!

2009-08-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn's first day of Kindergarten was August 10th. She is going to Carnelian Elementary, which is so nice, it is only a 10 min walk from the house... however on our way out the door for her first day, her and Mackenzie started fighting over who was going to sit in the front of the stroller.... they both got put in timeout for 10min so I could finish getting everything together.

Anyway, Kenzie sat in the front of the stroller, Owen was in the back in the carrier and Kaitlyn HAD to walk. She complained almost the whole way to school... I was ready to pull my hair out!! It drove me NUTS!! I was glad to leave her, and she was mad at me... so she didn't give me a hug or kiss good bye, I was a little sad, but at the same time happy that she was motivated to leave me, there was no crying and asking me to stay.

Then she got to be the line leader to the class room!! She was supper excited about that! When I picked her up she said the day was short and she had a good time. She just finished her fist week, and is loving it! I'm so happy. Her teacher is wonderful too!

Kaitlyn Swimming!

2009-08-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

This summer Kaitlyn had swimming lessons through the city at Alta Loma High School. This program was AWESOME for her!! She had 4 weeks of lessons 5 days a week a half hour for each lesson. there were only 5 kids in her class. We will definitely be doing it again next year.

The first day of class she sat on the side of the pool and cried the whole time... I felt sorry for the teacher. I told Kaitlyn we she was coming every day for 20 days, she better get in the pool! By the end of her 4 weeks, you would have never guessed she was afraid her first day. She can front float, back float, swim to and from the wall with her head under water and everything..... next she has to learn to breath while swimming so she can get out of the 3 feet of water... every time she needs to breath she stops and stands up, so she won't go where she can't touch! It's so cute and amazing to watch her grow in her abilities!

July... a very busy month!

2009-08-16T01:20:00.001-07:00

July 1st, 6 day past my due date

Owen finally decided it was time to come out! July 2nd at 2:32am. 8lbs 3oz and 21in long!

Owen at 4 days old

Kaitlyn getting a hair cut for Kindergarten

So naturally, Mackenzie wanted a hair cut too! Her first hair cut!

Mackenzie's family b-day party

Sister's loving on their baby brother

Mackenzie's friend party at Pump It Up

Amber's 25th and April's 22nd b-day's

June

2009-08-16T01:10:00.001-07:00

Our last trip to Disneyland before Owen.
The girls are standing in front of the house from the movie UP! They were so excited when they saw it. Our next trip to Disney will be Aug. 24th for Kaitlyn's b-day! It will be Owen's 1st trip at 8 1/2 weeks old.

These are just some random pictures of Mackenzie falling asleep in odd ways. We thought it was funny! :-) We did a lot of baby prep stuff in June, so no pictures of us cleaning, doing laundry or setting up the crib.. sorry. My due date was June 25th.. but little Owen wanted to wait an extra week.

May

2009-08-16T00:54:00.001-07:00

Mackenzie's best friend Sophia had her 3rd birthday at the Sawdust Factory!! They all got to make dog houses, so cute!

We went to Victoria Gardens and played in the fountain a lot this summer, beginning in May. They girls always asked me to take their picture, they are such little posers! :-)

We went to a Mother Daughter lunch with my mom and her church at Central Park. Kaitlyn even won a raffle!!
Amber w/ Kenzie and April w/ Kaitlyn.

We had my baby shower for little Owen, sorry this is the only picture that was on my camera. All the other pictures are on my mom and sister's cameras...sorry!

My "baby" sister April GRADUATED from Biola University!!! We are all sooooooooo proud of her. She is now in Argentina for 5 months learning to sound like a native Spanish speaker! Check out her blog at http://aprilsargentinaadventure.blogspot.com/
Again sorry for not having a better picture.. it just didn't happen with my camera, I was mostly chasing my two girls around the whole time!

April.. the month, not my sister :-)

2009-08-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

The Father Daughter Dance at church, the girls had a lot of fun.. wish I had been able to take more pictures, but I wasn't really supposed to be there! :-)

We went to the Sawdust Factory with our MOPS group, it was a lot of fun, the girls made mother's day presents for their grandmas. They turned out really nice, as always!

My poor poor neglected blog....

2009-08-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

Ok so it has been 6 months since my last post!!! Crap!! I have way too much to put on here... so I will do my best to provide lots of pictures with as few words for explination as possible! :-) Enjoy!!

So in March :

Took the girls bowling! They were so cute and had a lot of fun.

Took the girls to the LA Zoo, they had a lot of fun, and ask to go almost as much as they ask to go to Disneyland!

Took them to Glitter Glam at church, and had an absolute BLAST!!!

Kaitlyn went to the dentist for her Kindergarten required check-up. She did really good! No crying or anything! Her teeth are perfect!

Disneyland was fun...

2009-02-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

OK so most of you thought I was totally CRAZY for going to Disneyland the other day.... I can't say I really blame you. It was FREEZZZZZING COLD!!!!! But it didn't rain while we were there so that was a BIG plus!! And we walked onto everything... even Nemo was only a 10 min wait.

So next time you go to Disneyland, you have to ride Small World!! It is so nice with all the improvments that they made. It is all newly painted, and they added a USA section, as well as Disney characters. See if you can spot all the ones I did, and let me know if you find any others!

- Alice in Wonderland and White Rabbit
- Cinderella w/ Jaq and Gus
- Pinnochio and Jimminy Cricket
- Simba and Pumba
- The Three Amigos
- Mulan and Mushu
- Arial and Flounder
- Nemo and Dory
- Lilo and Stich
- Woody, Jessy, and Bullseye

Happy Hunting!

Disneyland Today

2009-02-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

So we are braving the wather and heading out to Disneyland. We should be there at about 1pm if anyone wants to join us, give me a call. :-)

We are having.....

2009-01-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

A BOY!!!!!!
Due June 25th 2009

Grandpa John

2009-01-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some old pictires I got a hold of and scaned. I thought I would share them. The first one is my favorite. It was when they brought my dad home from the hospital. I think it looks like he is thinking... "what do I do now"

This next one is Gandpa John and my dad at age 2 on a tractor at a farm in Minnesota.

This last one was taken on New Years day 1949. My dad is 11 months old.

Grandpa John Schiller

2009-01-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

Grandpa John was my last living grandparent. He passed away on Sunday January 11th shortly after 7pm. He was born on May 9th 1916 and died at the ripe old age of 92. I will miss his sense of humor and quick wit, his loving spirit and his generosity. I wish my children could have known him longer to have lasting memories. Kaitlyn knows him as the Grandpa who has Orange trees in his front yard, and a pool to dip her toes in; I hope she will remember at least that much.

We are going to have a family burial this Friday, and then a memorial service on Tuesday the 20th at Dimond and Shannon Mortuary in Garden Grove at 2pm with a reception following at Duane's house.

If you want more info please leave me a comment and I will email you.

A Day at Disney

2008-12-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

So a few days before halloween, we took the kids to Disneyland and met up with Jane and the boys. My pictures are all in the wrong order.... so you will see our day in reverse. Sorry.

Anyway... here are the girls hugging Tinkerbell!! The new Pixy Hollow area, is awsome. After Jane and the boys left, the girls wanted to see Tinkerbell. The wait was about a half hour, not bad.

Here is Tinkerbell in front of her "house" a tea pot, very cute!

You get to meet some of Tink's friends before you see Tinkerbell.

Here are Rosetta and Iridessa.

Cool, Buzz Lightyear!!

Kaitlyn LOVES to get soaking wet at DCA. This was the outfit she came in... needless to say, it was a good idea I brought a full change of clothes for the girls.

Nate and Mackenzie walking on the "hose"

Jane and Zack on the Carousel

Nate

Mackenzie

Kaitlyn and Aaron

We also rode Toy Story Mania of course, but I didn't get any good shots of the kids over there. All in all it was a really fun day!

Halloween.. Finally!

2008-12-01T13:55:00.001-08:00

Ok so I have been lagging on the blog. I know I'm finally posting halloween in December. Sorry for the long wait!

Ok so the girls were super excited about holloween. Kaitlyn kept telling Mackenzie "all you have to say is Trick-or Treat and people will give you candy" They of course wanted to be princesses. So Kaitlyn picked Sleeping Beauty, her favorite. I took her shopping after her birthday in August and this is what she bought with her birthday money!! We had a Cinderella costume already so that's what Mackenzie got. She loved it! They got all dressed up and I did their makeup. And yes Kaitlyn is wearing a leotard under her costume so she has a blue sleeve and a red sleeve.

The evening was fun. We first stopped at my parents church where they had a small trunk-or-treat. Then we headed over to Water of Life, and they have a HUGE trunk-or-treat every year. The girls got a TON of candy, and then we waited in line for the bounce houses and the inflatable slides. It was really croweded, but it was a lot of fun cuz we new what to expect and we wern't in a hurry.

Hien and Amber's Wedding 9/7/08

2008-11-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I finally got some photos from Amber's wedding, with the OK to post them online. So here a few. The wedding was at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at Cal State Long Beach. It was beautiful!!I wish I could post more, but if you are interested in viewing all of them and have about 10 mins or so to look at them you can go to this web site: http://yuenstudios.com/clients/pub/08/0907-quoc/ there are 8 different slide showes with about 700 photos total.

Amber and Hien before the wedding

Amber before the wedding

All the Groomsmen before the wedding

All the Bridesmaids before the wedding

Amber with her flower girls Kaitlyn and Mackenzie

The flower girls throwing fish food into the pond

Wedding party watching Amber walk down

First Kiss

Walking as Mr. & Mrs. Hien Quoc

The get away car... the bridesmaids all chiped in and rented this for them, it was a total surprise!

Cal Poly Pumpkin Festival

2008-10-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

OK so on Sunday after lunch, my mom, sister, her new husband, and I took the girls to the Cal Poly Pumpkin Festival. It was a lot of fun!! First we took them down the "big" inflatable slide, tickets were .50 cents each, so they only got to go one time, but they loved it. Then we headed over to the horses.. it was $4 a ride, but Grandma wanted to see them ride, so they got to go. So much fun, the girls did a really good job! Then finally we walked through the pumpkin patch for them to pick out pumpkins. They had a lot of fun running around. Mackenzie was filthy when we left.. as you can see in the picture, she had no shoes on.

Our three beautiful pumpkins!! All for only $10!! :-)

Hanging onto the fence watching the horses take all the other kids on rides around the arena first.... that line was about 30mins...

Kaitlyn and Mackenzie getting ready to ride the horses. They had to wear helmets.

Kaitlyn coming back after her ride around the arena.

Mackenzie after her ride.

The girls had a lot of fun. I wish it ran longer than just one weekend. There was also a "petting zoo" inside the pumpkin patch area, but the girls were too tierd by the time we were ready to visit. There were lots of booths selling al sorts of things. There was amazing fresh pumkin bread. We got some Dr. Bob's ice cream... delicious, the girls got chocolate, and us adults shared pumpkin ice cream!! There was one booth that made little mini donuts.. that was cool. There was lots and lots of fresh produce everywhere. Oh, and there was a huge incect building... we did not check that out!

Check out my Blog

2008-10-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

If you are like me and use google reader so you never have to click on a post.... please click on my blog. Check it out, and let me know what you think of the changes. Thanks!

Plus, it is really nice to know who reads it! :-)

Kaitlyn's 4th Birthday

2008-10-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn's Birthday was Aug. 24th so this post is loooooong overdue!
She got to have three parties, just like her sister.
Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate 4 wonderful years of Kaitlyn!!
~~~~~~~~~~
Party #1 Some friends at the park (thanks Jane and Deanne for coming!)

I felt really bad because this was so last min, and a lot of her friends weren't able to come. This was the same day as my sisters bachlorette party, so I was really busy and not sure if I would do a birthday at the park... but I'm glad she was able to play with some of her friends and share cupcakes and laughter!

Opening some presents

New Crocs!

Her favorite present of the day!

Thanks Nate!

What cupcake??

~~~~~~~~~
Party #2 The four of us at Ariel's Grotto in Disney's California Adverture Park

Belle

Snow White

Cinderella

Jasmine

And of Course, Ariel

While we were singing Happy Birthday

Her new favorite ride: Toy Story Mania

Totally worth the price! As you can tell from all her smiles, she had a blast!
She really felt like a princess. :-)

~~~~~~~~~

Party #3 Family at the house.

What is it??

Yea! New Bath Toys!!

Fun!! A Scooter!!

Kaitlyn's Favorite present: a digital Diego Camera!!

Where did the cake go??

Conversations with a 4 year old:

2008-09-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn: Mommy I don't like God anymore...
Me: Why?
Kaitlyn: Because he's a boy.. I don't like boys, only girls
Me: Who said God is a boy? What if God is a girl?
Kaitlyn: That would be silly, because we would have to change him back into a boy
Me: oh... OK

-----
Kaitlyn: I don't want to get bigger
Mw: Why?
Kaitlyn: Because when I get bigger I won't have girlfriends anymore, I will be all alone.
Me: Kaitlyn, your friends will get bigger as you get bigger. When you are 6 Isabel will be 6 too.
Kaitlyn: Really???
Me: Yes
Kaitlyn: OK, I guess I can get bigger.

You know you're a Disnelyland Fantatic When:

2008-09-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

You have searched for hidden Mickeys on every ride, and found quite a few.
You would get very excited when Fantasmic was about to start, an still do, so that you can go walk on rides.
You know that the guy in the window at the end of Star Tours is George Lucas.
You actually pretend that you are being attacked on Indiana Jones.
You have ridden rides up until 11:55 and then run to another to fit one more in.
You have gone into the ice cream parlor on Main Street, only to smell. Happiness.
You have bought some kind of hat with Mickey ears.
You remember thinking that the roller coaster in Toontown was so big and fast.
No matter who you're riding with, it will always be awkward riding on the Matterhorn.
You've ever gone into Disneyland just to be there.
You know all the dialouge to Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Taurs, and Tower of Terror.
You would get very excited when in line for Autopia, thinking that was how you really drive.
You know when certain rides are at their longest que lines and when they're at their shortest
When you were little, by the time the fireworks were over you were sleeping on you dads shoulder
You remember when fastpasses came about.
You've ever eaten lunch at the Blue Bayou and then walked outside and get shocked that it's still daytime.
You know that the chest in the room with all the treasure on Pirates of the Caribbean, is really the Azteck chest from the 1st movie.
Sour Cherry balls.
You know the one ride that is always crowded: Peter Pan.
You remember before there was a parking structure. And before they built California Adventure.
You know all the words to the fireworks.
You know all the words to the parade: welcome to our family time
You have ever eaten at the Hungry Bear restaurant and fed the ducks.
You remember before they changed the Autopia ride.
You know where Club 33 is.
You remember when they closed Space Mountain to "remodel" it and five years later it was barely different.
You remember when they had tv's in line for Space Mountain, and you would watch the news from space.
You've ever gone in the animation building on a hot day, just to cool off and sit.
You remember before they would take pictures on the rides.
You've ever been in California Adventure for a few hours, and then you want to get back to Disneyland.
You remember when you would get scared on the Alice In Wonderland ride, and still do.
You've ever eated at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel.
You remember before there was Downtown Disney.
You know you're way around Disneyland better than anywhere else.

2008-09-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

Bible In A Minute - barats and bereta

For the Political Record, by Aaron Powell

2008-09-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

For anyone who is interested here is what I think. I welcome comments. If you do not want to be subjected to polictical arguments you can skip this post.

I love John McCain. Not in a weird I want to marry him way. But in a I think he is the best person to lead the free world sort of way.

I started following McCain when he was running for President in 2000. I found I agreed with almost all his positions, I admired his life story, and loved the fact that he seemed to be a straight talker. He, as much as politicans can do, stood on principles he believed in. He is stubborn. He will do what he thinks is right even if it means telling his fellow Republicans he thinks they are wrong and they can go to hell. He will work with Democrats if he believes in a principle they will champion. He has earned his maverick label.

In 2000 the Republican Party wanted so badly to win after President Clinton with the Monica Lewinski scandal and the failed attempt to remove him from office. Unofficailly the party got together, everyone looked at all the Republican governors, and it was decieded that then Governor George Bush would be the next President. Money poured into his campaign and he amassed over 60 million dollars to use in the primaries (back then that was a lot of money, now chump change).

The only problem with this is it appears no one told John McCain. While Bush won the Iowa Caucus he lost New Hampshire by an embarassing 14 points. This infuriated the Republican Party. They had already anointed then Governor Bush. They had given millions of dollars.

In the lead up to the South Carolina Primaries, Bush spent his 60 million dollars to smear John McCain. He was helped by conservative special interest groups. They did not attack McCain on his policies, they attacked him personally. They said his wife was a drug user (she had at one time been addicted to pain medication). They said his adopted daugher was really his from an affair he had. They said he didn't care about those going through breast cancer because he had at one time voted against legislation funding reseach into treatment (this despite the fact he had a family member who had breast cancer). They called into question whether or not he was still in his right mind because he had been tortured as a POW. He was denounced as not being "Christian" enough. Evangelical leaders stood up and denounced him (and in doing so, lost my respect).

We all know Bush won that primary and then he became President. I abhor the way the Florida recount was handled and don't understand why the state could not recount all the ballots (its not that important just the Presidency of the United States). I don't understand the Supreame Court ruling that said a recount would call into question Bush's victory. His victory was in question that is why a total recount was necessary.

I wrote in John McCain's name that year. I did not vote for Bush. I didn't vote for Al Gore because he seemed so stiff and aligned with the Clinton's and the scandal. In 2004 I voted for Kerry. In retrospect, I guess I had voted for Gore. He seems to be a man of honor and integrity. He has won a Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award. He makes fun of himself and is lighthearted. I admire his character.

What do I think of President Bush? After 8 years in office I have come to the conclusion- WORST PRESIDENT EVER. Looking back at sound clips of him promising to restore honor and dignity to the White House. Promising to be a uniter and not a divider. I am disgusted.

What really angers me about him is the arrogence and lies. We go into Iraq based on the premsie they have weapons of mass destruction. We are told to trust him, he has the evidence, we need to go in. It appears that was wrong. What happens? He doesn't say we made a mistake. NO ONE EVEN GOT FIRED! I'm sorry, I think somebody needed to take the fall. That was kind of a big mistake. We went into a nation because we didn't like them and overthrew it. I think that is horriblly wrong and sets a bad precident. We lose our moral authority in the world. How do we tell Russia to get the hell out of Georgia when we are reshaping the Middle East.

Now one could agrue that Saddam Hussian was not a evil man and the country isn't better off with him gone. Yes, but we didn't go to war on that rational. And there are a lot of countries who have evil men running them and we are not going to go to war with all of them. I fear Presdent Bush made this personal. Wanted to get the guy who tried to kill his Dad. Wanted to finish the job his dad started with the first Gulf War. But the first President Bush had some of the highest approval ratings ever for his handling of the war. He had our troops go in, accomplish our objectives, and get out. He also had the rest of the world in agreement on what we did. Too bad the son did not learn that from his Dad.

This President likes to talk a lot about the war on terror. But any enemy captured is not subject to the rules of war. The President says these people are not subject to the Geneva Convention because we are not in a convential war. So we are free to hold people indefintly without charges or trial and we can use enhanced interigation techniques. Under the Geneva Convention these techniques would be called torture. But we don't torture people. So the President lies to us.

We are doing to others what was done to John McCain in Vietnam. I like what Joe Biden said in the Senate on this issue. I have to paraphase, "We have rules we follow so we don't have our men and women tortured when they get captured. I have a son over there and I don't want him to ever be subject to this." We have lost our moral authority.

The President doesn't believe in Global Warming. He can't be bothered with facts or science (science is the devil). Protecting the environment has not been any sort of priority for him. We are still dependent upon oil to run our gas and power our ecomomy. We could have already developed technology that would lead us to a future where we are not so dependent on gas.

The President is not evil. He has done good things. I just see the bad things as looming very large. Some of the good things I like are: We haven't had another terriost attack on our soil. We have tried to root out the terrorists wherever they are in the world. Iraq seems to be calming down. We were justified in going into Afganistan and defeating the Taliban. The President has appointed two great Supreame Court justices. (I really, really like Roberts) I believe under his watch a law outlawing partial birth abortion was passed. I'm sure there may be many other things I am forgetting.

So why do I like John McCain? He is against torture. He would close the detention facility in Cuba. He was a vocal critic of the handling of the war in Iraq and the President's administration. Without him the surge of troops would not have happened and Iraq would be in a total civil war by now. He is well aware of the dangers and opportunities and the United States faces in the world. He is fully ready to be commander in chief. He believes in protecting our environment and reversing global warming. He wants us to develop new technologies to replace our oil dependancy. (I wish he was not for off shore oil drilling, but even Barack Obama has switched his position on that so it looks like that is coming no matter what.)

What do I think of Barack Obama? I think he is an honorable man. I think he may be the greatest orator we have in our country today. He can give a speech and inspire. He is a leader. I don't know that he would have gotten the democratic nomination, however, if most of the country didn't hate President Bush and just want a change.

Earlier in the campaign his Vice President, Joe Biden, was running against him for the nomination, he said Barack Obama was not qualified to be President and that being President did not lend itself to on the job training. Hillary Clinton said that she and John McCain bring a lifetime of experience to the table, and Barak Obama brings a speech he gave in 2004. Even Barak Obama when he was first elected to the Senate in 2004 said he could not see himself running for President in four years because he would not have the qualifications for the job.
Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton now swear Obama is qualified. And Obama now believes he's qualified. I think the Democrats, and maybe a lot of people in the country feel, well, we can't do any worse then Bush. Republicans had their chance, now lets let the Democrats have a turn.

I think our country would be blessed to have John McCain as our President. I think he is honorable and has immense character. Even Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Joe Leiberman say McCain is there friend. Two of those guys have a funny way of showing it. Come on, if I ran for President you guys would vote for me, right?

McCain is not perfect. There are legitimate reasons to not vote for him. But the Democrats seem to want to say don't vote for him because he's just like Bush. Anybody who paid attention to the 2000 campagin knows McCain is not like President Bush. McCain has gone against his party time and time again. He works extensivly with Democrats. He is a Maverick and a Reformer. He has an immpressive personal story. He's a hero. Bush meanwhile is the son of a war hero and went AWOL in the National Guard.

The best way to attack McCain is to say; since running for President for the past two years McCain has sought to win the base of the Republican Party. This would be hard for him because the base hates him. When McCain lost in 2000 he endoresed President Bush, he did so because he knew he would want to run again. Just like Hillary endorsed Obama. Do we really think Hillary loves Obama now, please. McCain has re packaged some of his positions and not talked about other positions he has in order to try to rally the conservative base of the Republican Party. He has taken great pains to make up with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson after calling them agents of intolerence. He talks more about his Christian faith. He doesn't talk about the fact that he likes to work with Democrates and seeks reform and even goes after corruption in his own party because it doesn't play well among the people at the Republican convention.

So for the last two years he has sought to win the conservatives trust and vote. He came out and said he is against any new taxes increase. He now wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. He won't talk about stem cell research or immigration or torture or closing the detention facility in Cuba or global warming. I believe he still holds strong positions on those matters, but he has to run as a Republican.

What the Democrats did successfully at their convention was to rally their base. Hillary and Bill Clinton gave very strong speaches essentially blessing Barack Obama. They attacked McCain, but only trying to tie him to Bush.

Things did look very bad for McCain, he didn't have the charisma of Obama and couldn't win over the conservatives in his party who still hated him despite trying to for over two years. Then he picks Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidental pick. Suddeningly the conservatives are falling over themselves to praise McCain. Even James Dobson and Rush Limbaugh have had a change of heart.

McCain did just what Obama did. He united his party. But he went one step further. He made the bold VP choice. Obama spurned Hilliary Clinton and went for the safe choice. McCain made a game changing pick. Palin electrified the Republican party with the same energy Barack Obama gave to the Democratic Party. Now all that is left is to fight over independents and a handful of states that will deciede the election.

I have to say something. I have always watched CNN. That was the place I got my political news. When people told me that there was a liberal bias at CNN, I always defended their coverage. I thought they were pretty balanced. However, the week that John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate have caused me to switch my position. CNN has a dramatic liberal bias. There where no smart Republican Anaylsts, except for Bill Bennent who was there for only the first hour (I think he is super smart). I can not listen to certain people talk because I want to pick up my TV and throw it accross the room. Now, I also hate it when my news has conservatives who just trash the Democrats. I hate when news people are angry and are just out to smear the other guy. Right or Left-I don't want to hear how a Democrat hated the Republican convention or vice versa. Give me real Analysis. Compliment the other guy, that way, when you critize an issue you have with them, you have validity.

I think the media has launched a smear campaign against Palin. How exactly is she not qualified to be President and Barack Obama is? Please, someone help me out. About her foreign policy credentials, how does one get foreign policy experience, hey, being a vice president is probably a good way. But what if John McCain dies on day two of being in office? Yeah, what if Joe Biden died on day two of being the Vice President, who would Obama go to in order to know what foreign policy decision to make?

Relgion and Politics could be the topic for a whole other blog, but briefly (?) I just want to say. As a Christian I don't believe it should matter to us if we have a Christian President or not. I don't think it should matter if Prayer is in the schools or if Roe v. Wade is overturned. These things should not matter as much because the church should be the church regardless of government.

If tomorrow our right to assemble and be Christians was taken away, would that stop us from praying and meeting? Would we be unable to love? Would we be unable to follow our Lord Jesus Christ? Would we all have to leave the country and find someone else where we could elect our President and write our Christian laws.

Christianity is not a policitical kingdom, is a spiritual one. Before we are American's we are bought with a price by the blood of Jesus and we are his. If we are all about politics, we may turn off many people with our message. But if we are about love, some may still be offended, but we will be above reproach.

Amber's Bachlorette Party

2008-09-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Ok so I was going to put up more photo's from the party, cuz it was a lot of fun, but I realized after going through all of them these are the only "appropriate" ones. I think Amber would dies of embarrassment if I posted some of the others, so next time you are at my house and want to see some pictures with her holding up lingerie and looking very embarrassed, let me know! :-)

Swimming Lessons

2008-09-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

August 11th - 15th the girls had swimming lessons at the Murdock's house. Thanks Jane for inviting us, and Larry and Louise for lending your pool. And lots of thanks to Ms. Colleen for helping the girls swimming techniques.

I was so proud of Kaitlyn, she got right into the water, usually it takes her 20 mins to get used to the idea of getting in, so that alone is a HUGE accomplishment. Colleen got her to swim around the whole pool with her, I am truly amazed!

Mackenzie was fearless.... I haven't decided if this is good or bad yet. She LOVED jumming off the diving board. She was always the first to try whatever Colleen wanted them to do. She did great!

Playing Dress Up

2008-09-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie's "New" Bed

2008-09-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

I was out garage saleing with my sister who was looking for furniture for her new apartment, when I drove by a house that had this cute toddler bed out front. I stopped and asked how much, and they said $8.... I said what??? are you sure??? So I quickly gave them $8 before they changed their mind. I brought it home and cleanned it up a little. It is in perfect condition. I can not believe my luck! Mackenzie fell in love with it. They first two pictures are in the hall way while Aaron was taking apart her crib, they girls were playing on it. The last two pictures are from that night after she fell asleep. :-)

A Day at the Beach

2008-09-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Our kids love going to the beach. We only went 3 times this summer, we are going to try and go one or two more times before the weather get too cool. I tried to get a picture of the waves breaking... the best one, turned out all fuzzy.. bummer. The girls like daddy to take them out and jump over the breaking waves.

Dodger Game

2008-09-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

We went a Dodger game on August 1st... it was Manny Ramirez first night as a Dodger. We had a lot of fun. We got seats on the Top Deck and took the kids. They had so much fun cheering for the Dodgers and yelling Manny.. Manny.. Manny. It was a friday night, so the game didn't start til 7:30pm, I though for sure the kids would fall asleep, but they stayed up for the whole game and even walked back to the car!! I was impressed. It was a great experiance, and the Top Deck wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, so next time we take the kids we will be getting the same tickets.

Chick-fil-A FREE Chick-n-Strips on Labor Day Event

2008-08-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

It's true!!! Check it out http://www.cheerforchicken.com/

Come play with us!

2008-08-18T22:58:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Come play with us at Victoria Arbors Park just north of Victoria Gardens off of Church St. THIS Saturday at 10am to celebrate Kaitlyn's 4th Birthday. We will have snacks and Cupcakes for everyone. Let me know if you can join us.

Mackenzie's Disney Birthday

2008-07-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

So on Mackenzie's real birthday July 13th, we skipped church and went to Disneyland. We took the kids to Goofy's Kitchen. If you have never had a character dinning experience I highly recommend it. It is so much fun! We have taken the kids every year on their birthday to either Goofy's Kitchen or Ariel's Grotto.

It's not cheep, but on the upside under 3 is free! They have a full brunch buffet... everything from mickey waffles to pb&j pizza for the kids and everything from an omelet station to salmon for adults... oh yeah, and a full dessert bar too!

There are always different characters when we go, every half hour or so they have a parade through the restaurant and the kids get to join in, then the characters go from table to table meeting and greeting everyone. So everyone gets to have a photo op and personal time without a line!

Playing in an Autopia car while waiting to be seated.

Getting a Birthday hug from Goofy... he is a good chef!

Baloo from the Jungle Book / Who knew Mackenzie loved Dale so much?!

Our girls love the princesses!! Kaitlyn is absolutely giddy to meet Belle!

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday from Mickey" and Mackenzie clapped along then blew out her candle. Yummy cake!

Mackenzie 2nd Birthday

2008-07-26T15:38:00.001-07:00

Well Mackenzie is TWO!!! She had a lot of fun celebrating with family .

In the back playing./ Reaction shot of her opening a present.

Blowing out the candles./ Yummy cupcake in a cone!

Her favorite present from Auntie April... Crayons!

7 Years, already?

2008-07-09T23:39:00.000-07:00

On June 30th, Aaron and I celebrated 7 wonderful years of marriage!

For those of you who do not know the story... The morning before our wedding I was walking down the stairs in slippers and slipped... landed on my ankle on the corner of the step... OUCH! Aaron was at my house in 10 mins (normally a 15-20 min drive) and my mom and him took me to the ER. After only a few hours of waiting, they took x-rays and determined I did not NEED a cast. they wrapped my ankle which was already twice it's normal size, and sent me home with vicodin to use on the wedding day, and strict orders to keep my foot elevated and no weight on it for at least 3 days. - FUN! :-)

My mom stayed up til 1am decorating the crutches and wheelchair that I would be using. Thank you mom! So the morning of the wedding... 6am hair and make-up, 9am (vicodin on mostly empty stomach),pictures at the church, 10:30am wedding, 11:30am reception, 2pm Allison is so sick she throws-up before she can get to the bathroom.... I kid you not, the vicodin made me so sick... I felt horrible all day, I should have just lived with the pain or taken motrin and tylenol, drugs my body is used too... let that be a lesson for everyone!

Well at least I will have a memorable story to tell the grand kids someday. :-) To this day I have only watched my wedding video once, I can't watch it without getting upset.

I could not ask for a better husband, God truly has blessed me. Thank you!

my cute, funny kids

2008-07-09T23:28:00.000-07:00

Toy Story Mania Ride!!

2008-07-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

We LOVE the new Toy Story Mania ride at Disney's California Adventure (DCA)Park!!!!!! :-)

Ok so this is a totally FUN ride! Too bad Aaron wiped my butt with his score! I only got 75,000 to his 120,000 - dang it! - next time Aaron, next time....

Sorry so long...

2008-07-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

Ok so it has been over a month since my last post.... so I'm a loser, shot me. :-) Well other then the same-old-same-old stuff we have been busy busy busy.

Most of you know that we went to Minnesota so visit with some relatives and fund raise while in town for a conference. While there we also got to spend some time at the Mall Of America! Did you know that it used to be where the Minnesota Twins played? That's why it is so Freaking Huge!! 4 stories tall, with an amusment park in the middle! FUN! :-)

Just a few pictures for you, I have over 200 from this trip, but you're only getting 5.

Rick and Audry, the Missippi River is in their backyard! They are the nicest people!!

Joe, Donald, Rodger, and Harold - Mackenzie called them all Pa-Pa, she loved them!

Playing at the Mall of America, Kaitlyn had a ton of fun! (where's Kenzie??) She had fun too.

I'm starting a diet...

2008-05-24T21:41:00.001-07:00

So I am starting this diet.... the first 8 days is a detox... I can only eat veggies and oil... and not even the veggies I like... no carrots or corn. bummer. After 4 days I get to add whole grains, like amaranth, quinoa, millet and buckwheat. After the 8 day detox part, I get to add chicken, eggs, fish and turkey. This is day two and so far I'm already tired of lettuce, zucchini, cauliflower, cabbage, and onions. But I know this diet works. This diet was "invented" by Dr. Kellas. My family met him what I was 8, I had a lot of allergies and after going on this diet they were all gone with in two weeks!!! At that time, my dad was 500 lbs. and was told he would die within 6 months of a heart attack... long story short... he lost 200 lbs on this diet and is still around 20 years later. So I'm giving it my best shot. My goal is to loose 50 lbs by the end of the year.... we will see if I can do it. :-) I really want to loose the weight before we start trying to have another child. I talked with my Dr. he said go for it... so I'm seeing Dr. Kellas down in San Diego once a month. You can check out the website for his clinic if you want. http://www.camhealthtalk.com/ Center for Advanced Health. And yes I have an exercise program too. Anyway, here is a picture of my breakfast this morning, and Mackenzie loves it, Kaitlyn won't even try it. :-)

A Random Sampling

2008-05-09T10:47:00.001-07:00

Mommy and Kaitlyn Day at Disneyland

2008-05-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Once a month Aaron and I try to split the kids up for one-on-one time... Kaitlyn has been asking for two week for a mommy/Kaitlyn day at Disneyland.... so on Wednesday I took Kaitlyn to Disneyland. She wanted to see all the princesses... which is great, because there is no way we could wait to see them if Mackenzie was with us. The only rides we went on all day were Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, and Monsters Inc. But she had the best time ever. When we got home, daddy asked her "What was your favorite thing today?" and Kaitlyn say "The Ice Cream!!!" Next time... we go to Rite Aid! :-)

Mother's Day Photo Shoot

2008-05-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Isabel's Birthday Party

2008-05-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Isabel's party was at Build-a-Bear and the kids had so much fun! Thanks Deanne!!!! This was last month but I just now uploaded my photo's off my camera, sorry so late. Anyway.... The girls had a lot of fun making the bears and picking out clothes... Kaitlyn named her's Rainbow! She loves it! :-)

MOPS Table Day at Victoria Gardens

2008-04-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

The kids had a lot of fun getting wet and running around, thanks to all who showed up to make this a fun play day. :-)

Kelsey's Birthday Party

2008-04-20T00:31:00.001-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Kelsey!! Kaitlyn had an absolute blast! Thank you for inviting us! :-)

Jenny Dog Update

2008-04-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

Jenny Dog is feeling much better today. This is the first day that she has been up and walking around like normal.... but she still has a lot of healing to do. She is kept indoors and away from the other dogs so they don't lick her wounds. She just looks so sad...

The plastic tube is there for drainage... I get the chill's every time I look at it... the inside has to finish healing before they can stitch it up, otherwise it will just get infected worse... yuck. I feel so bad for her.

An Owl, Really? Really!

2008-04-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

The Vet thinks it was an owl... crazy! The wounds are too far apart to be a dog, and not very deep. So the owl probably though yum.. a large rodent... I wonder how far off the ground the owl would have been able to carry her?

Our Poor Jenny Dog

2008-04-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so last night was sad....

We got home from having a blast at Joe's Crab Shack were the kids got totally dirty playing with all their friends at the play ground...

Toss them in the tub and then the phone rings...

"Hi Mom, whats up?"

Mom says "Oh I am so sorry to tell you this.... but Jenny dog got out and we can't find her."

- Background Info - "Jenny Dog" as we all call her is technically Aaron's dog. She was a Christmas present to him from me a year before Kaitlyn was born... she is a little miniature Dachshund . She has lived with my parents though for the last 2 1/2 years. My parents took all three of the dogs with them to Big Bear this week....

Me "but it's 7:30pm... how long has she been gone? Can she survive the cold weather?"

Mom "ummm...... a few hours.... I've been driving all around and talking to people, no one has seen her... it's getting dark and I'm afraid she might freeze to death or be eaten..."

Me "ummm...ok.... well I have to get the kids out of the tub and into bed. We will pray that she is safe and you find her in the morning."

Mom " Ok sweetheart, I'm so sorry...." (mom trying not to cry)

- Later as I put Kaitlyn to bed -

"Kaitlyn...ummm.. mommy has to tell you something..."

So I tell her all about how Jenny got out of the yard and is now lost and scared and we need to pray and ask God to protect her and keep her safe so Grandma can find her in the morning.

Kaitlyn " Dear God, please keep Jenny dog safe so she is not scared and lonely (starting to cry) help Grandma to find her in the morning, Amen."

I was trying so hard not to cry... I was already really sad about her getting out and being lost in Big Bear, but to hear Kaitlyn pray so earnestly and seeing her get upset did me in.

So this morning we get a call from my dad... "WE FOUND JENNY DOG"

So yeah, good news!! But... she has puncture wounds on both sides of her abdomen, and is in shock... but she will be ok.. She is at the Vet in Big Bear, they are going to keep her overnight for tonight only to make sure everything is ok.

Good thing, cuz I don't think I could handle telling my kids that their favorite dog died...

Here is the most recent picture I've taken with the girls and the dogs.. Jenny is the one all the way on the right, the skinny little thing.

Gliter Glam

2008-04-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

My Girls being their super cute selves and showing off their new dresses from the "mickey store"

Kaitlyn having fun at Glitter Glam, Thanks Jane for making sure all the girls have so much fun! :-)

Lego Land

2008-04-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Lego Land with MOPS on Thursday March 27th. The girls had a lot of fun, but still like Disneyland better (good thing, cuz Lego Land is too far a drive). Miniland was cool, thats a picture of them in front of Pairs Las Vegas. Their favorite was playing in the water, they did that for about an hour, sorry no pics of it though.

Easter

2008-03-25T13:01:00.001-07:00

No, Mackenzie is not crying, I said "Smile" and that's what she gave me. :-) Same with Kaitlyn. They had an absolute blast coloring eggs!

Disneyland

2008-03-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

Well if you didn't already know, we go to Disneyland a lot. So here is a random sampling of some recent trips. BTW - the new "Playhouse Disney Live on Stage" is great! Kaitlyn loved it. It is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Mandy, Little Einsteins, and My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

Soon to follow: Kaitlyn's picture on Splash Mountain!

Kaitlyn is so grown up...

2008-03-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

OK so today I had the girls in the car running all around town. Or last stop was Costco... on our way, Mackenzie was being fussy so I turn on the CD with there current favorite song and cranked it up.. to which Kaitlyn protested, I explained it's just for a min, we were almost there, I just don't want Kenzie fussing..."OK mom" was Kaitlyn's reply. A few moments later, Mackenzie stops clapping to the song and starts fussing again, only louder... so I say"Fine!" and turn the music off. (We are about to pull into the Costco parking lot anyway) To which Kaitlyn leans over towards Mackenzie and whispers "Are you happy now?" I could not stop laughing.... totally something I would have said. :p kids are cute!

Amazing Husband

2008-03-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where your kids just get on your nerves no matter what they do? You just need them to stop being kids for 10 mins so you can get your head screwed on straight? Well yesterday was one of those days for me...

Kaitlyn would not stop bugging Mackenzie.. she kept jumping on her, or putting her feet in her face, you know just irritating her, so needless to say there was a lot of screaming/crying/whining... driving mommy nuts! On top of all this, the house was a mess, it looked like the Tasmanian Devil had been through... and every time I tried to do anything, it felt as if the kids just got louder and louder, I finally had to lay down and take a nap because I had a headache that would just not go away.

Lucky for me I have to best husband ever!! Not only did he let me take a nap, he somehow got the kids to calm down for about an hour while he cleaned the house! The floors all got picked up and vacuumed, the tables got cleared, and laundry got done!!! I was absolutely amazed!

I am feeling much better today! :-)

The Beach

2008-03-02T17:40:00.001-08:00

Ok so on Thursday it was 80 degrees outside and we were trying to figure out something fun for the kids but we didn't have money to spend...so we drove down to Corona Del Mar Beach. Only it was 66 degrees there and the water was freezing... but our kids didn't care. They got soaked then decieded to play in the sand... they HATED showering off in the cold shower at the beach, so when we got home they took a nice warm bath! :-) All in all a fun way to spend the afternoon.

And here are a few more

2008-02-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

Team Bahrain
Allison (the bookkeeper), Aaron, Sarah, and Janean (the journalist)
Crossing the bridge at the American Mission Hospital

The back of the bookshop we inventoried and re-organized

Aaron touching water that has touched to coast of Saudi Arabia

Team Bahrain looking over toward Saudi Arabia in Prayer

Finally...pictures from our trip

2008-02-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Aaron riding a camel (before ever riding a horse)

Allison about to ride the camel

Yummy.. traditional Middle Eastern food!

The Tree of Life (out in the middle of no where.. you can read our adventure in a previous post)

Aaron and Allison on the Tree of Life

Our last day in Bahrain

2008-01-23T04:39:00.001-08:00

Well it's been fun.... I'm sad to say good bye to the people we have met, but I am very excited to see my kids again!! :-)

Today (Jan 23rd) has been a wonderful last day. We had a meeting with the head of nursing at the Hospital to sort of "debrief". Then we spent the next several hours packing and cleaning our lovely little apartment.

Now it is 3:45pm and we are finished at the bookshop (YEA!!!). We are going to head out to the sea port and watch the ships go out, we are told this is a beautiful sight, so we hope to come back with some great pictures. Then off to dinner.

We will be at the aiirport tomorrow morning at 7am for our 9am flight that is only an our long... :-) We will only be in Dubai tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday then we head home on Saturday morning!!!! :-) And with all the time differance...only a "short 7 hours" and we will be home, of course it will actually be about 18 hours of traveling time. YEA FUN!!! :-)

Well we hope to see you all soon. If you see our kids tell them "mommy and daddy miss them and love them very much" I can't wait to see them!! :-)

Good bye for now....

Team Journal 20th, 21st, 22nd

2008-01-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

20 January 2008

This morning, Janean and Sarah headed to the American Mission Hospital clinic in Sar. They met various doctors and patients with many stories to tell. Surveying patients has given us a great context to meet workers who have much experience and wisdom to share.

Allison and Aaron started at the AMH and then made their way to the bookshop. Thankfully, they completed inventory and now we’re pricing new books and organizing the shop to more efficiently and creatively display the books and music.

This afternoon before coming to the shop, we met with Janean’s friend who has lived in this part of the world for many, many years. She was able to share stories, wisdom, and provide contacts for various opportunities. Altogether, this trip has provided various opportunities to meet people, to network, and to discover new perspectives.

I’m excited for the next few days. We have quite a bit planned and am excited to finish strong.

21 January 2008

Today is Monday. Allison and Janean awake excited to start a new task for the hospital – we will provide office assistance in the fundraising department as they prepare for their annual “Island Classic Golf Tournament” at His Majesty, the King’s, Golf Course. Aaron and Sarah will return to the shop to continue the drawn out, yet necessary bookshop re-organization.

And so we begin. Allison and Janean enjoy hours of phone calls, packaging, recording, and any other task thrown our way. Boring? I think not. Both of us enjoy working with people, so, with tasks in hand, we breeze through the morning chit-chatting with the other ladies.

Aaron and Sarah dust, move, and altogether get A LOT done at the shop – El Hamdulallah! We enjoy some lunch, walk through the Souq where Allison decides to have her name written in Arabic and made into a necklace….it’s beautiful. Ask her to see it. I’m sure you won’t have to twist her arm, she’s quite proud of this nice necklace addition. We then eat some dinner (nothing too exciting or worth mentioning). Janean, Allison, and Sarah begin their “girl’s night out” while Aaron begins his “man night in.”

We plan to find some gifts at the local craft center, which turns out to be more like a creepy dark parking lot with no one around – just shadows, empty parking spaces, and enclosed walls – exatly where you DON’T want to be in an unknown town on an unfamiliar island……three ladies. Not to worry, we headed back down the street, stopped in a shop, bought a few trinkets and headed home for the night. We enjoyed some quality time on the couch in front of the T.V.…..and managed to scare Aaron away when we, the girlies, decided begged him to leave the channel on a Jane-Austen, Victorian Era, knock off film…….so the night continued in girls only excitement. Which consisted of random pictures, silly jokes, and altogether a grand old time.

Excited for an early night, we take advantage of the young night and head to bed.

22 January 2008

Today, Janean and Allison return to the office. Enjoying themselves with the ladies, we head down for lunch, meet up with Sarah and Aaron (who returned to the shop today and practically finished everything), then we all head into a gathering of hospital staff and workers. It’s their annual appreciation announcement time. We clapped for all the workers who have shown dedication throughout the years – some for less than ten, others more than thirty years…..incredible. we then ate lots of food. Headed to Bahrain Fort where we sorta ran around like little kids on a sugar high already suffering from ADD and desperately lacking Ritalin. Okay, maybe it was just Janean…but Allison got a bit excited too…..and Sarah scaled walls and climbed like crazy. Aaron just watched…probably from a distance. I guess we may have been embarrassing, to say the least. Malish!

Then we headed to Bahrain Mall to buy some gifts. Janean grocery-shopped filling her cart with all the goodies unavailable in Egypt….we ate. And ate. And ate some more. Then we returned to the shop where the others faithfully finish the tasks and I…..well, I’m typing away……far, far away.

Looks like things are finishing nicely. We actually had quite a few people come in tonight…….maybe more tonight than the past couple weeks. The displays have been cleaned and updated, the shelves organized to look attractive and uncluttered. Altogether, it looks like a bookshop…one that people may want to browse through. Before, it was good, but I’m glad that we were able to come and provide the practical services that we did. These are things that are difficult to manage when you have to run a shop with very, very limited help. Mission accomplished! I’m excited…..this bookshop has much potential.

Team Journal 16th, 17th,18th, and 19th

2008-01-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

16 January 2008

This morning, Allison and Sarah headed to the bookshop. “Why?” you may ask. Well, I underestimated the task ahead of us and well, remember two days ago when I told you that we were close to completing inventory? Yeah, that was a joke – BIG time! So, as I faithfully document the happenings of the day, the other three persevere through the daunting task of recording Titles, ISBN #s, and quantities. Fortunately, this is all handwritten, so when we come across a familiar title, all we have to do is flip through the pages of hundreds and hundreds of titles and numbers to see if we’ve already recorded that specific title. Now, now, there’s no need to be jealous :-)

In all seriousness, it’s so wonderful to be able to help out in practical ways. Some may think, “Why did they travel across the world to organize a bookshop?” Good question. When we figure out the answer, we’ll let you know! :-) Really though, you cannot come on a trip knowing what to expect, so every morning and evening, we spend time focusing and remembering why we’re here. We are here to serve in any capacity. This bookshop provides a non-threatening environment where believers and seekers are invited to flip through pages of literature answering various questions about life, business, education, etc. but most importantly, where people can behold the most important words they can ever read.

The shop owner works endless hours to keep the shop running and, sadly, there aren’t many workers to help him. Being here is an honor and should be nothing less than that. Perhaps some reading this do not understand. I can only encourage you to spend time listening to the stories. Try to understand the heart behind the stories. People do not come across the globe JUST to organize books and survey hospital patients.

There’s always more to the story. In the words of nationally syndicated radio host, Paul Harvey, “And now you know the rest of the story.” May you and many, many more know the rest of the story.

After helping at the shop, we headed to the mall to drop off a few books to the kiosk and then enjoyed some team bonding at…….APPLEBEES! Having been continuously separated these past few days, this was a good time to enjoy each other’s company, sit back, and just relax. The festival began so we went home early and spent about an hour in prayer. Chanting, pleading, yelling, and marching ceaselessly filled the air through the night.

Just prior to tucking in, Sarah and Allison found themselves entertained as Janean and Aaron “rapped” to a few favorites……it was fabulous – ghetto fabulous! “Thuggin it” is the leitmotif of the pictures documenting the evening. But rest assured, of the many things Janean pursues, rap is not one of them….as for Aaron, watch out Emenim, A-Ro is shooting straight for the bull’s-eye!

17 January 2008

This morning, Janean and Sarah began the morning surveying a whopping four patients before being summoned to the director of human resources office. They have requested our help to prepare for an upcoming annual fundraiser to provide the medical equipment needed to keep the hospital up to date. After receiving our new orders, we met up with Aaron and Allison at the bookshop to continue the seemingly endless yet necessary tasks at the shop. After an hour, we headed home for lunch, then to the Souk to look at the shops, and pray through the streets where the people march at night.

Tonight, Aaron and Janean hope to attend a lecture at a tent designated to provide information about the festival to expats. Allison and Sarah are still unsure of their plans. I’ll be sure to let you know how tonight turns out. I can guarantee one thing – tonight will be a night filled with prayer.
-=-=-=-=-
Well, here’s why we journal AFTER events happen: we didn’t go to the lecture; instead, we visited with some friends before they left the island. We had a great time discussing life, the future, and many other important issues……on our way home, the taxi driver dropped us off a few blocks from our flat because the streets were blocked off for the festival.

The marchers were headed in our direction so we stood on the side of the street and waited for them to pass. After they passed, we followed/walked along side them until we reached our flat. After spending some time in prayer and debriefing, we headed for bed.

18 January 2008

The morning we’ve all been waiting for……this morning, we SLEPT IN! That’s right, you heard me….SLEPT IN! Some until 10, others until 11. Fantastic is truly an understatement. After lounging the morning away, we headed off to a friend’s house for lunch with his family. Enjoying cottage pie (also known as shepherd’s pie) and veggies, we began our 30 minute drive to the Tree of Life.

Funny story, the drive turned out to be more like, 1 hour and 30 minutes….after successfully NOT finding any signs or other directions pointing us to The Tree, we pulled into the parking lot of some important looking building to be met by two men running out of the building both fully armed and ready to do whatever it is they’re trained to do when innocent, unsuspecting tourists pull into the wrong parking lot. With a few, vague directions, we were back on the road in no time, and in even less time, had know idea where to go. He said turn right….fortunately, there were 2 rights at the same intersection and following our line of luck, we took the wrong one, which, of course, we didn’t know until driving for about fifteen minutes down a dirt road through a camping village of some sort.

Attempt #2: we take the 2nd right at the same intersection as the 1st right. We find signs saying “Tree of Life”! We must be on the getting closer, right? Ha, joke was on us. We soon found ourselves driving parallel to the freeway on a sandy road. Well, road isn’t the word I’d use…sand, sand, and sand is more like it. Thankfully, the sand wasn’t too soft and we continued on. Still, the Tree wasn’t anywhere to be found. We turn around.

Attempt #3: We ended up at another gate/parking lot with armed soldiers. Are you beginning to see a trend here? At this point, we are convinced that THE tree of life isn’t really THE tree, it’s more A tree of life. You see a sign that says “Tree of Life” and the next tree you see MUST be THE tree. But we persevere and finally find a kind young man on a dirt bike who offers to escort us to The Tree. Him and his friend zoom by on their bikes and lead us to the Tree of Life…..yes, that’s right: WE MADE IT!!!

Allison and Sarah went to the Arabic service at the National Evangelical Church where Sarah ran into her friends from Dubai who were leading worship. Excited to fellowship with Arabic speakers, Sarah wants to return to the Arabic service tomorrow. Since Janean’s ears ache to hear Mosree (Egyptian Arabic), she will join her tomorrow night.

Instead of a Christian church service, Aaron and Janean attended the “lecture” for expats regarding Ashoora. However, this lecture turned out to be more of a Shia “church” service accompanied with songs (suras being chanted) and a very passionate message. Interestingly, Mohammad was mentioned only as Hussein’s grandfather. Other than this mention, Hussein seems to be “the man” of Shia religion. As the speaker graphically described Hussein’s death and the accompanying events, sobs quickly turned to pitiful wailing. The first segment focused on love as completely essential to the Shia’s faith. Without love, faith, belief, religion, and everything else means nothing. Hussein is the ultimate example of this love. It is because of his love for Allah that allowed him to suffer what he suffered. There has never been and never will be anyone like him.

As Christians, we discussed how Jesus has truly turned our mourning into laughing and our sorrow into joy. We have nothing to mourn. We celebrate life and life ABUNDANTLY! Good news is an understatement. We have the best news ever. What keeps us from sharing this? Sometimes I wonder if I’m fully convinced of this. During the message, the speaker focused on three main points:

Know Allah
See Allah
Love Allah

When you spend time knowing Allah, you begin to experience the constant struggle between your own desires and his desires. As you persevere through this struggle, you begin to see Allah in the events, occurrences, and people around you. You don’t see yourself in contrast to Allah, you see Allah and just Allah. This inevitably leads to loving Allah. At this point, the spectrum of pain and pleasure flops. Pain and pleasure are no longer based on the presence or absence of comfort but based on the presence absence of Allah. Separation from Allah is ultimate pain. This is why Hussein is exemplified as love – he loved Allah so much that his gruesome death pails in comparison to the pain he would’ve experience had he not fought for Allah.

Anyway, this was truly an enlightening experience. Ask any of us to share about these past few days during the Ashoora festival.

19 January 2008

Today we drove over the bridge to Saudi Arabia. We stopped at the tourist center before crossing the half-way point. (As far as you can go without a visa, and they don't give tourist visa...bummer for us.) We took pictures, Aaron put is hands in the water, we drank coffee, and prayed for the fog that covered Saudi Arabia ahead of us.

And then it was off to the camel camp. That’s right, we camped with camels. Okay, we restrained ourselves and didn’t stay the night, but we did go on a short ride….and by short, we went around in five little circles. Although a few of us had ridden camels, this was a unique experience because the camels were not saddled. Instead of sitting in front of the hump we sat behind it. Our camel ride was cut short because this mamma camel was trying to feed her babies and wasn’t thrilled by our interruption, understandably.

Janean made friends with a camel who, at one point, rested it’s head on her lap. She named him Camil (Cah-meal). In Mosree, Gah-meal means beautiful. So she suitingly combined Camel and Gamil. Brilliant, I know.

On our way to our friend’s house, we drove through a Shia village followed by another delicious meal at our friend’s house.

While enjoying pleasant conversation during dessert, a very interesting topic surfaced: death of workers in the field. Encouraging for all aspiring long-term workers.

Then Allison and Aaron went out to dinner and Janean went with Sarah to get her Mosree fix. Janean met Sarah’s friends. We met various people – a lady from Greece, a couple from Syria, a few Egyptians, Persians, an MBB, a Bahraini, and a few others. Altogether, it was an enjoyable evening. But it didn’t end there. After we finished our brief debrief, Janean and Sarah stayed up talking until 2am. Luckily we have a busy day tomorrow. :-)

team journal Jan 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th

2008-01-16T03:48:00.000-08:00

12 January 2008

Today, we started our day off at the bookshop. Aaron spent some significant time speaking with the bookshop owner’s friend who wants to practice his English. Excited to practice with a native English speaker, Aaron’s new friend promised to return tomorrow.

While Aaron and Sarah rested, Janean and Allison caught a taxi to Seef Mall, which is right across the highway from Bahrain Mall. And we just found out that another mall will be completed in September along with Shop-o-holic Anonymous!

Everyone met at the bookshop to enjoy a Mexican dinner that Janean and Allison picked up from the mall. Once again, I’d like to bring your attention to the diversity experience in Bahrain – Cali couple, Japanese American, Swiss-German-Jordanian enjoying enchiladas, burritos, and tacos…..the excitement ensues. We then continued to work on inventory, labeling the DVD’s to sell in the bookshop and at the kiosk in Bahrain Mall.

Sarah and Aaron felt better when they woke up this morning, but as the day continued on, they started to feel worse. We continue to pray for their health and for the other teams.

We also had a surprise appearance from bird lady. Bird lady’s poor eyes require her to wear hideous magnifying glasses, which some may consider glasses. Anyway, she likes to inhabit our living room and randomly scare our cooing neighbors away. Against Janean’s wishes, the team has decided not to adopt Bird lady as a team member. Maalish!

13 January 2008

This morning, Janean’s friend who lives here dropped off a mobile phone for us to borrow. This allows us to communicate with the other teams, which is quite exciting. Half of the Oman team is sick so we continue to pray for them, and we haven’t heard back from the Yemen team.

We met at the bookshop for some team time then headed to the hospital where we met the CEO and other important people who gave us a tour and orientated us for our upcoming duties, which begin tomorrow. As outsiders, the hospital wants us to conduct surveys so patients can express their opinions without feeling threatened. This is great since we will be able to connect with local people.

At the bookshop, we have almost completed the inventory process. The DVD labels are coming along. Aaron spent about an hour with his new friend talking about all sorts of things. His friend is open to talking about politics, religion, business, life, etc. As long as he can practice speaking English. He brought falafels for us tonight and wants to bring a small meal for all of us sometime this week! Sweet.

The weather has been overcast and rainy so the malls have been relatively empty. However, we walked around the mall today covering this place with prayer.

We went to Seef Mall and split into two groups – Aaron and Allison, Janean and Sarah. We walked around on a prayer walk for a few hours and then ate dinner before going to the bookshop.

Sarah is feeling better; although, her throat is still a bit sore. Allison misses her darling daughters.

14 January 2008

Today, we started volunteering at the hospital. By we, I mean Allison, Sarah, and Janean. Aaron began his hospital excitement as a patient. He decided to see a doctor about his progressing death cough. The doc prescribed him cough medicine, which will hopefully help reduce and eventually end his death-like cough (Praise the Lord!).

Getting patient feed-back regarding services received at the hospital isn’t the most exciting job. The highlights include the rare conversation with patients healthy enough to have a decent conversation. Sarah got the contact information for a very nice lady, Janean made friends with a few of the nurses, and Allison was sadly placed in the worst section of the hospitals – where patients rarely come and nurses hide behind partitions all day. I’m not sure what goes on behind those partitions, but whatever’s happening, the patients want nothing to do with it .

Janean met up with her friend for coffee and had a great time! When she FINALLY returned to her patiently awaiting team, the girls headed to Bahrain mall for some groceries (which of course includes a “few” stops here and there….) and Aaron headed to the bookstore to get the latest on the football playoffs….I mean to work. Which he ended up doing all alone since a “few stops here and there” quickly (or should I say slowly) turned into a Girls’ Night at the Mall and Boy Night in the Shop. Funny how that works.

With the weather improving, we hope to get out a bit and see some of the sights. We hope tomorrow will hold a bit more excitement. In the meanwhile, last night we had a wonderful team de-brief, which consisted of prayer and acapella worship.

With about ten days left, we are hoping to make the most of our time. Far more familiar with public transportation, the next few days are sure to be full of memories and significant experiences.

On Thursday, the Ashura Festival honoring the martyred Hussein begins. This festival is for Shia Muslims and focuses on the suffering. The participants feel a need to suffer as Hussein suffered, which typically consists of cutting their foreheads and continually slapping or hitting their cuts in order to spill blood. Participants range from young boys to well-aged men. We have been and will continue to pray.

Ending on a good note, today we enjoyed a surprise visit from a jujitsu gypsy….I bet you thought they were extinct (Allison has a photo for proof): welcome to Bahrain. She lives in the bathroom of room 505 at the American Mission Hospital and enjoys sneak attacking unsuspecting kitchen dwellers. Once again, Janean is left disappointed as the team vetoes her attempts to inaugurate Jujitsu Gypsy into our team. Better luck tomorrow!

I look forward to updating you with more details…..I trust that our adventure will continue with excitement and anticipation as we search for opportunities to serve!

15 January 2008

Aaron’s health improves. Sarah, Allison, and Janean seem to be fully fueled, rejuvenated, and ready for the business of Bahrain (or lack thereof).

Putting our super surveying skills to use, we went to work about the hospital. Sarah had some great opportunities to speak with some women who decided to read the Bible in the waiting room. Speaking both Arabic and English, she is able to converse with many people. Janean got to eat some wonderful Indian food with the nurses in the pediatrics department while chit chatting about life, love, and…..food. One nurse shared her story – married off at 14, first child at 17, and desperately awaiting old age (to pass the time), this 30 year old nurse encouraged Janean to wait as long as possible to get married. Allison spent time roaming between different halls enjoying pleasant conversations with various people. Aaron spent the majority of his morning praying for patients coming in and out of the outpatient clinic. Since this corridor keeps busy, many people were lifted in prayer thanks to his dedication and perseverance.

Aaron and Allison had a night out, indulging in fine, American dining at the Hard Rock Café. Enjoying their freedom from Janean, Sarah, Bird Lady, and Jujitsu Gypsy (a rare commodity), they relaxed and spent necessary time together topped off with good’ol nachos, fajitas, and a brownie sundae. A date night in the Gulf, a dream come true, I’m sure. And they have the pictures to prove it……although, in typical fashion, the pictures do not include themselves, just the nachos and wall decorations. We’ll work on this 

What do you get when you put a Swiss-German-Jordanian-Half Jap-from Hawaii in an English, Arabic book kiosk in a Bahraini Mall full of Saudis, Filipinos, Indians, Europeans, and everyone in between? A night full of excitement, obviously. From conversations with a Filipino about starting your own business to a Saudi about the Bible and Qu’ran, the night continued with a lot of prayers, smiles, and friendly chit-chat.

our team journal

2008-01-12T01:49:00.000-08:00

11 January 2008
Home: Hospital mazes and hyper-markets
Welcome to Bahrain!

And so, Team Bahrain begins: Aaron, Allison, Sarah, and Janean. Here we are, sitting at Gate 6 amused by our honorary 5th member, 20 Questions entertaining us with random questions such as, “Is it bigger than a pound of butter?” or “Does it bring joy to people?” Minding our own business, ignoring the awkward stares of others, our team bonding continues interrupted by a giggly toddler who decides to attack innocent Allison. It was more of a hit-and-run, minus the run. A waddle is more like it, and accompanied with a child’s rendition of the evil laugh, this little tyke succeeded in his endeavors, and his memory will forever be recorded in the happenings of Team Bahrain.

20 Questions in pocket, luggage in tow, we finally land in Bahrain. Minus passport control’s suspicion of Janean’s identity, everyone made it through just fine. Hungry, tired, and full of eager anticipation, we load our cart –

Seven pieces of luggage, check
Five team members, check
Passports, check
Hungry stomachs, double check

Stepping out of the airport, we are quickly greeted as the “three Americans and one Swiss-German-Jordanian.” I suppose no one had difficulties identifying us, obviously. Loading our luggage into two vehicles, we begin our journey through the extensive city of Bahrain toward the American Mission Hospital, which will be home for the next two weeks.

Parking across the street, we strap on our backpacks, roll our suitcases, and trek our way across the street, open the door to the hospital, and breath in the warm air in relief – we’re finally home! Elhamdulallah, right?

Or not. Little did we know what lay ahead: too many corners, a few elevator rides, one bridge, various doors until, at last, room 505 – Home sweet home!

Following sighs of relief as we sink into the living room couches, quick introductions, we make our way to Bahrain Mall – food our goal. Nothing will stop us now. One hour later, here we sit, Allison and Aaron, the Cali couple, enjoy Japanese grill; Janean, the half-Jap from Hawaii and Sarah, the Swiss-German-Jordanian indulge in tasty Persian Grill. Diversity is an understatement.

Finally fed, we begin our journey through the hyper-market. Yes, hyper-market, not to be confused with supermarket. Just imagine the excitement, or lack thereof, as four of us tired and fed, stroll, or lag rather, through too many aisles, filled with too many options, thinking of one thing: bed! With a common goal in mind, we persevere, pay, load up, and head home. Day one, done.

As the journalist of the team, I feel the responsibility to not simply record the happenings of our days, but the shared thoughts, concerns, and overall feeling circulating throughout our team. With everything that was prayed over our team, I am convinced that our time here will not be in vain. Each of us has a role to play, and in my opinion (I’m sure the others will agree), each member was hand-picked for this team. We continually come together in prayer – for Bahrain, for our team, and for the Yemen and Oman teams. We trust that our Father will guide them with wisdom as we all go forth with a common purpose – to glorify Him.

We are very excited to hear the stories when we meet again. Until then, blessings. Tonight, Sarah is starting to feel ill and Aaron still suffers from a death-like cough.

12 January 2008

Of rocking chairs, cheddar cheese, pigeons, and fresh milk.

Waking up to our adamant neighbors determined to introduce themselves, we meet our ledge-dwelling pigeon friends. Although, at 4:30 in the morning, I question the friendliness of our neighbors. By 8:45, we are up and ready to start our two week stay with fellowship at the National Evangelical Church. Consisting of mostly expatriates from India, Philippines, North Africa, and beyond, we enjoy the diversity of the congregation and awe at the almost exclusively western service structure. Regardless of which, we shake a few hands, sip some tea and coffee in the gloomy, slightly rainy weather.

We then enjoyed a nice Filipino, all you can eat buffet with our friend and his family, followed by a much-needed two hour nap. According to our vague schedule, the majority of our time will be split between the hospital, the bookshop that our friend owns, and the mall where we can help at the book kiosk, meet various people at coffee shops, or wherever else. Tonight, Allison and Sarah went to the mall and dedicated their time to praying for those around them. Janean and Aaron began the tedious inventory process at the bookshop.

Sarah is feeling worse, Aarons death-like cough is, as Allison prescribes, still sounds like death. Thankfully, Allison and Sarah bought a few needed groceries: toilet paper, cheddar cheese (Janean’s excitement is embarrassing), subway sandwiches, and most importantly, CINNABONS!!! Our time in Bahrain is off to a tough start, trust me!

Unsure of what’s to come, yet equally excited, we spend time praying together and praying for each other – especially for Sarah who is feeling worse.

Am I a slacker or just to busy?

2007-12-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

Ok so it's been a while since I last put anything up on my blog....so I'm going to try and condense what has happened in the last 2 1/2 months into a few brief paragraphs. Here goes...

Our camera broke and I have yet to buy a new one.. hopefully my family will get us a nice one for Xmas. The kids had a great Halloween, Kaitlyn was Dorthy from the Wizard of OZ, and Mackenzie was Tinkerbell... they were soooo cute, but you will just have to take my word for it.

As most of you know, we were trying to get on staff at the US Center for World Mission... we have been through the hiring process since Oct. 2nd and just found out that we have not been accepted...another long story but for our purposes here I won't go into it.

We have been trying to raise money to go on a short term missions trip in January...that's going ok...but not great, it might be only Aaron going unless we get another $900 in a week...we will see what the Lord provides.

I am now a MOPS table leader, and that has been going well, they all came over to my house for a pizza party..but I was feeling sick that day, go figure...the way of life...I really do love my table group.

My Wednesday night women's growth group is going slow, we are down to only four women, but we are able to have a lot of really good support and connection time so that is nice. We are going through the book of James and we find it VERY encouraging and helpful. Faith without works is meaningless.

Aaron is taking a staff position at the Refuge House of Prayer. He will be praying about 20-30 hrs a week as well as setting up the internship program and teaching on missions.

Kaitlyn is excited to be in the Christmas musical tomorrow at church...as is our entire family!! :-) I'm also excited that she is growing..she is 39 1/2 inches...just a half inch more(or some good shoes) and she will be able to ride Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Star Tours and Sorin' over California at the Disney Theme Parks!!!!! :-)

Mackenzie... I am just amazed at how much she is growing and changing every day. She loves to were shoes, especially her sisters, and she is quickly out growing everything. She loves to run and dance and spin around, and just be involved in everything. She is my cutie pie! So adorable.

Ok well that's it for now. I will post some pictures as soon as I get a camera or my mom sends me some from hers. Love you all - peace out!

Running on Thyme

2007-09-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested.... my sister Amber made Kaitlyn's birthday cake. As most of you know, she started her own catering company but is focusing on pastry orders right now. She finally has her website set up, not perfect yet, but in running order. Check it out at www.runningonthyme.com you can view a better picture of Kaitlyn's cake. Anyone who wants to order something from her, I can negotiate a deal. :-)

PS: It took her 4 hours to make that cake!

Kaitlyn's 3rd Birthday

2007-09-20T23:23:00.001-07:00

Thank you Everyone for coming! Kaitlyn had a blast at her Princess Party! I know you all were looking forward to seeing the pictures, so enjoy! Thanks again for coming and celebrating with us!

Mackenzie's 1st Birthday!!!

2007-08-04T23:22:00.001-07:00

These first two pictures are from Disneyland at the Plaza Inn on Mainstreet. This was the Tuesday before her birthday. For thoose of you who don't know, for $10 per person, you can decorate your own cake and get to see Mickey and Minnie here. (On the plus side, kids under 3 are free!) She was unsure of that we put in front of her, it was great to watch her discover the tastiness of suger filled frosting!
Look mom! This is sooooooooooo yummy!! And I get to make a mess too!
Everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to Mackenzie at her Nemo party. She had a lot of fun! For some reason, I didn't get any pictures of all the fun that was going on in the backyard, so if by chance someone got some pics, I would love to have them. Thanks!
Here she is with her icecream cake in her Nemo hat

Kaitlyn's first Haircut

2007-08-04T23:07:00.001-07:00

Kaitlyn got her first haircut on June 28th 2007!!! She did wonderful, she was such a big girl, and sat perfectly still. I was so proud of her! :-) Anyway, here are some pics of the major event!

MeMe - 8 Random Facts About Us

2007-08-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

The Meme Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Random fact #1
I was in a wheelchair for my wedding. I fell down the stairs in my house the day before and severely sprained my ankle; you could hear the "pop" when I landed on it. The ER doctor told me to lay down and keep my foot elevated for 3 days... that wasn't going to happen, so I got vicodin.

Random fact #2
I've been to Hawaii 6 times, none of them with Aaron. On that same note, I've been parasailing 6 times but not all of them in Hawaii. I love it.

Random fact # 3
I can play the Piano. I can still play "The Entertainer" and "Fur Elise" without sheet music. (and yes, "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks" too)

Random fact #4
I have 75 units and no degree. If I enroll at Chaffey. I could apply my credits and have an AA in Business. I just never filled out the paper work, because I transferd to UCCS (Univeristy of Colorado, Colorado Springs) in January of '01, but then my Grandma died, and I was in the middle of planning a wedding, so I freaked out and moved back home and never finished. If my Grandma hadden't died, Aaron and I would probably be in Colorado.

Random fact #5
I only have 4 1st cousins, and they are all on my mom's side of the family; however I have over 100 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cousins on my dad's side.

Random fact #6
Aaron's mom and dad are technically step siblings. They met when their parents got married. Debbie was 19 and Cliff was 21, they never lived in the same house, they didn't even like eachother at first.

Random fact #7
Aaron can recite long passages of Shakespeare. Go ahead and ask him to quote "Hamlet" or "A Comedy of Errors."

Random fact #8
Aaron is partially color blind; he can't tell the difference in darker shades. i.e.: he thinks his dark blue jeans are black.

The 8 People I Tagged:
1 - Jenn Reynolds - you still need to do yours
2 - Jenn Corbett - see above
3 - Brianna Whitehead - see above
4 - Jenn Langford - you need to get started
5 - Ana Eshoo - I would love to see yours
6 - Pam Smith - I would love to see what you have to say
7 - Melani Betbadal - Why don't you have a blog yet??
8 - Esther Nair - see above

Our Team

2007-06-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

OK so this was our team going to Morocco. First you have my mom Mary Ann, then Liz, Amy, Kaitlyn, myself, Aaron, and of course little Mackenzie. We all got along so well on this trip, it was amazing really... no fighting... no hair pulling... even the kids got along well! :-) It was sad to leave Liz and Amy in Texes, we miss them. Kaitlyn is still asking me where they are, and I have to keep explaining why we can't just drive to their houses to see tham. Liz lives in Indiana, and Amy in Kentucky so obviously, it's only a 10 or 15min drive like everyone else she knows. Hopefully one day not to far in the furture they will be able to fly out here and we can show them the wonderful things Southern California has to offer them... like Disneyland... and the Pasific Ocean.. and of couse Flipside!

Villages outside Izmourren

2007-06-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is the same site that Aaron was at last year. This is the "Community Center." Last year there was only one story and no roof yet... very exciting to see the progress!

The FOR on the Building stands for Friends Of the Rif (pronounced reef-i). It is wired for electricity just not hooked up yet, it is also ready to be hooked up to a septic-tank and have running water. This will service as a house upstairs for one of the Long Term workers and a believing Moroccen family, the downstairs will be a "community center" where they will also hold classes on a marid of topics, ranging from hygine to language learning.

This building is a barn that holds sheep, chickens, and rabbits. Aaron helpped lay the foundation for this last year. This allows them to keep and care for a large number of animals.

Kaitlyn standing next to a baby olive tree. They planted 200 olive trees on this property and in 3 years time they will bring in $30,000 USD worth of profit for them! This is amazing.

This is a cistern that will collect rain water and allow them to use it

This is a photo of how the local village people have been living the past 3 years since the earthquake. A lot of people died because the houses were structually unsound, so they have been fearful of rebuilding.

Here is a picture of a house currently being built by the organization. So far they have built, I think, around 70-75 homes in 3 differant villages. They are now starting to work in a 4th village. It is simply amazing the differance in quality of life they are supply for these family's.

We are home! (Too much traveling in too short a time)

2007-06-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Traveling with children is a challege..... hahahahhaha.......

The kids were actually very good, it was just amazingly impossible to lugg all of our luggage and hold kids and car seats while trying to run to catch our next flight.

Our flights to and from Dallas were the only ones where we sat together, we always had to ask people to move so that Kaitlyn didn't sit by herself... on our way there from Dallas to Chicago, we sat on the plane for an hour before we took off, and then were in a holding pattern waiting to land for a half hour....so by the time we landed and got off the plane we had to RUN through the terminal before our flight to Madrid took off without us...we were the last people on the plane, they even started taxiing before we took our seats! Needless to say we are glad we packed clothing in our carry-ons because it took a day before we got our luggage.

It took three days for the kids to adjust from Jet Lag...that was fun.... they did really well in the car rides to Izmourren(2hrs) and Fez(5hrs) and back, praise the LORD!

Flying back was worse then getting there.... Kaitlyn got sick as we landed in Miami (3 times) so we ran out of clothes and had to get her one of those "some who loves me went to Miami and got me this shirt" and I needed a new shirt...you did not want to have to sit next me after Kaitlyn threw-up on me either..... and then...

....on the 19th... Mackenzie took her first steps!!!!!!!...(then later got hurt really bad by a door incedent and was crying so much she threw-up right down my shirt.....gross!!!)

So......note to self so much traveling in too short a time.....not the best for kids. :-)

See below for some great pictures of the kiddos sleeping while traveling!

Mackenzie asleep in the wonderful lifesaver of a backback that the Smarts let us barrow! (Thanks!) This was on the beach in Melilla.

The kiddos asleep on the mattress in our room in Izmourren, Morocco

Kaitlyn fell asleep on a chair in a resturant our first night in Melilla (we stayed there for 2 nights before driving to Izmouren)

Kailyn asleep on the plane from Madrid to Miami... on the floor.

Mackenzie asleep on the Plane from Madrid to Miami in this really cool bassenet... very handy!

Getting ready for Morocco!

2007-05-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Ok so I wanted to set this up before we leave for our trip. I don't expect to have internet access while we are gone, but I will post a bunch of stuff when we get back. Aaron and I will be keeping seperate journals, so I'm sure we will have plenty of stories to tell!

In the meantime, here is a cute picture of Kaitlyn washing her sister in the sink!