Little Helper

As you know I have been wanting to be able to upload videos. Well, I have been trying for a while with little or no success. I have known You Tube to be an option, but honestly have avoided it because there is so much raunchy stuff on there. I don't want to compromise, but at the same time I do want to be able to upload videos for our family and friends to see. So, I am going to give it a try and see how I fell about it.

All that said, please enjoy this little video clip I took of Nathanael just the other day . . .

Another Year Older

Well, I turned another year older this past Thursday :-)  Being 32 isn't so bad!  I had a wonderful birthday and it actually lasted for about 3 days! Can't beat that!  I have such a sweet family, both here and abroad and they made it extra special for me.  Here are some recent pictures of us celebrating.

Kindergarten Graduate

This is long overdue, but late is better than never.  As most of you probably already know, Samuel graduated from Kindergarten just a little over a month ago, but was unable to attend his graduation because he woke up sick that morning.  It broke all of our hearts that he was unable to attend his own graduation ceremony.  He actually took it well and thank the Lord he was feeling better by the afternoon.

 

He started out the school year homeschooling and then in late January switched to a small Christian school in Boom Creek Village.  Kindergarten is a big change for any kid, especially for one attending school in the Jungle with no running water or electricity, having to use an outhouse instead of an indoor toilet and a well pump instead of a sink to wash his hands.  I must say, that is quite different from my Kindergarten experience :-)  He did really well adjusting and even made some friends.

 

He has learned so much over the past year and did really well in school.  He is even getting a little more excited about reading and when he applies himself he does great!  Of course he still prefers to have the books read to him, but I guess I would too :-)  If I had to guess, his best subject seems to be math and he has been doing really great at reading too.  His least favorite thing to do is handwriting, but he is getting much better!  Great job Samuel!!  We are so proud of you!!!

 

We have been in much prayer about next school year and with the Lord's help we are going to be homeschooling once again.  The school experience in Boom Creek was great, but we just feel that homeschooling is what we are supposed to be doing.  Would you join us in prayer?  I am both excited and nervous as I will have three little students this year along with a sweet little 1 year old tag along :-)  Samuel will be in 1st grade, Iva will be in 4 year old pre-school and Levi will be doing pre-school too, absorbing anything and everything a 3 year old can.  We hope to start our school year on August 2nd.

The Things Kids Ask

Just the other day I was outside with the kids in the front yard.  There were also two other neighborhood girls out there too.  They are sisters, probably 9 and 7 years of age.  They were talking to me as I was keeping an eye on our kids.  Then out of no where, the oldest girl asked me, "Why is your stomach so fat?  Are you just fat or are you going to have another baby?"  I couldn't believe she just asked me that!  I said, "You think I am fat?"  She then took her hands and smoothed out my shirt over my stomach and said, "Yep, it's fat."  Trying to take up for my "fat" belly I said, "Well, it could be because I have had 4 babies!"  Then I said, "I'm not fat!"  She said, "Are you sure there isn't another baby in there?" 

 

Isn't it so crazy that she asked me that!  My stomach may not be as flat as it was 7 years ago, but "fat", that just hurts!  I didn't take it too personal though because I know how kids are, and especially here, they just communicate a little differently than we are use to.  Maybe I need to work on my post baby tummy a little more so I won't have kids coming up to me asking me the "fat or pregnant" question :-) 

 

And, for the record to all my readers, "NO! I am not pregnant!!"  Apparently I am just fat :-)

 

*There won't be any pictures with this post for obvious reasons!

Our Front Yard

On a regular basis this is the scene in our front yard.  Our yard is a favorite play area for the kiddos on our street and in our neighborhood.  Now that Nathanael is getting a little bigger, he can join in the fun too :-)  And, of course the girls adore him!  Watch out Levi you've got some competition :-) Here are some pictures from a few days ago. 

Bun aka "Squishy Bread"

This is the bread I made recently.  Can you tell that I am proud of it?  Only because it takes me so long to make it and I am always so nervous about it not turning out right.  A good friend of mine here in Belize (thank you Maylin) taught me how to make it some months ago and our family loves it.  She calls it bun, but our kids have called it "squishy bread" from day one.  I must say though that her bread is soooooo much better than mine.  But hey, you have to start somewhere right!  This batch turned out a bit dry, but it was still pretty yummy warmed up with some butter spread on top!!  Mmmmmm :-)