Happy Memorial Day! May 26, 2008

How do we celebrate Memorial Day? Many people visit certain veteran memorials, and many people visit the grave site of loved ones.

We did neither.

Ben mentioned going to the Liberty Memorial downtown, but Dave and I thought there would be way too many people down there as they were having a ceremony, remembering all the veterans of all the wars. They even had one veteran attend that fought in World War I! He is 107 years old!

We didn't visit any grave sites, since I am unsure of where in the cemetery my grandparents and great grandparents are located.

SO...

We made memorial day a day for us to remember in the future!

It was a rainy day, so outdoor activities were not an option. We had to be creative! The kids love to build forts with the couch cushions and blankets, and hardly ever get to, so, this was the day!

Sydney and I built the fort while Dave and Ben prepared the grill and 'hamburgers ranchero'! After the fort was complete we all helped to prepare a complete lunch. Burgers, hot dogs, cucumbers with ranch dressing, chips and cantaloupe. Then we ate our lunch in the fort!

Here are some captured moments!

The Fort ~ The aerial view (from the kitchen)

The Fort ~ The land view

Food Preparation

Grilling in the sprinkling rain!

Burgers Ranchero ~ Hamburgers with onions, oregano, salt and pepper mixed in; cheese melted on top; add salsa and serve on a warm tortilla. Yum!

Dining in the Fort!

Our little outing~ The Bass Pro Shop

Since it stopped raining, the kids enjoyed some sidewalk chalk!
Ben created a landscape picture of the ocean. Complete with boats, waves, sharks, and, surfers.

Sydney drew a picture of herself and Ben, and labeled it.

At the end of a long and memorable day, we had very long shadows!

A trip to Thailand again!

I just wanted to let you know that I am headed back to Thailand again. I am traveling with the same group I went with last September, to the exact same place. We will be supporting Saman, the pastor of Pua Baptist Church in providing for the young girls who live in the Grace House as well as reaching out into other communities to share the Gospel. We will be leaving on June 14 and returning on June 25. I will try to post and entry from there, however, it may be difficult to have access to a computer. Remember these kids...and please pray for them.

Saman is reading from the Bible in preparation for the baptisms.

Nut is being baptized, with me assisting.

Manee, with her family who still live in the hills.

Here are some of the students at the school in Pua.

The Grace House Girls!

If you would like to pray for them by name, here are as many as I know: Nut, Manee, Fah, Mai, Goi, Mae, Carrot, Jib, Kibzee, and Pron. Some of the other children from the Church are: Gluay, Joy, Toon, Tak, Jo, Bic, Fame, Garn, Ben, Dan, and Pooh. The Missionaries that we will be working with are, Mindy E. and Geri.

Here are some of the girls from the Abba House in Chiang Mai. King, Wa, Kob, and Da.

Please visit http://www.abbahousefoundation.org/ to find out why these little girls need to be protected. We will be visiting the Abba House again this trip, if time allows.

See my posts in Sept, Oct, and Nov for the last trip to Thailand.

Sydney had a birthday! April 30!

We celebrated Sydney's birthday at a cool place called, "Young Chefs Academy"! Here are some photos of the kids ...

Decorating their Chef hats!

Each child added a 1/2 cup of flour, to help make the dough.

Sydney, the Birthday Girl, got to put in the rest of the ingredients...

Then it was time to flatten the dough. Each child had their own lump of dough.

Next came the sauce, cheese, and then pepperoni!

While the pizzas were cooking, she opened presents!

Yummy pizza!

And a Hannah Montana chocolate cake!

I can't believe she is 5 now! Whew!

Hello Spring?! Hopefully?!

We went out for a bike ride/walk/run today to enjoy the beautiful weather. Although it was partly-sunny, the breeze was still chilly. It was only about 55 degrees F.

Here is the horse we call Jack. He lives about 1/2 a mile from our house.

Arriving at our destination...

Releasing some extra energy!

Wheee!

A beautiful partly-cloudy sky!

And, trees still missing leaves. We have had a long winter!

Crossing the bridge to the other park!

Syd's second time ever to go down a fireman's pole, by herself!

Some signs that spring is here!?

A gorgeous Redbud Tree!

Ben wanted to capture the sounds of all the bird calls.

Listen closely and you will hear many birds!

Sydney, enjoying the springtime.

Syd: "Mom, these are wishing flowers! Guess what I'm going to wish for?"

Mom: "What?"

Syd: "Can I say it out loud?"

Mom: "Ummm?"

Then, off she ran, again!

Ben gave me directions on this next photo. He told me to take the picture of just his face and the "Wishing Flower" and then make the picture black and white. So, here it is!

I think he may have an artist's eye!

What a great time spent with the kids!

Run For Mercy - 5K - April 19, 2008

Okay, I have been casually training for a while, and now is the day to apply it all.

I was running/walking the 5K in 45 minutes. My goal was to do it in 30-35 minutes.

Today, I ran the 5K in 35 minutes, 23 seconds!!

Here are the pictures of the very cold morning!

(Cloudy and about 42 degrees with a cold wind! Ugh!)

It all started at 6:45am by drinking some hot "Refresh" tea at Starbucks!

...and a little hangman with Ben!

There is the start/finish line!

Putting on my official number! - 610 -

Ben was cold and tired , I was cold and nervous, and Dave was cold and volunteering!
Dave handed out free coffee at the Starbucks table.

8:00am - It's about time to go - getting the ipod set! My music of choice - Nick Lachey!

I finished - cold, sweaty, tired, proud!

I did it! My first 5K! I feel like I will probably do it again, sometime!

Ben's Green Belt Test - 3-29-08

Ben is showing his blocks.

(on the left)

Ben is showing his fall.

Ben is preparing to break the board with his round house kick!

Ben passed his test and is now a Green Belt!

Yea, Ben!!