Bite 2

Onto other children and such.

Alex is only a few days away from turning 12. He is now as tall as me so sometimes I pinch him. A few months ago he decided he wanted to show everyone how the Gospel has transformed him by being baptized, as one of 6 people from our church also taking the plunge. Yes, that is a cattle trough. No, the water was not heated, even though it was February. Yes, it was a pretty amazing night.

He keeps getting better and better playing his guitar and has started lobbying for an electric. He has spent the summer on his favorite website, google translate. He sometimes gets an urge to write a story in another language, as we all...never...do. Right now he is reading a book on Uzbekistan and if you knew him you wouldn't have to ask why. He and Jeff are working on building an Adirondack chair. Next week he is going on a camping trip with his dad and they are going to sleep in a lookout tower. After that will be junior high camp, family camp, and seventh grade.

Abby has turned 13 despite my most earnest pleas for her to just stay 12. This is a picture from birthday party #1, which included a fancy shmancy meal with her two closest friends, followed by civic theater's "Beauty and the Beast". A good time was had by all. On her actual birthday she requested Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich which we shared with a whole slew of relatives. Then she unwrapped her presents, which included her very first cell phone. There was a lot of shrieking...more for the idea of having it than for anticipated use. This was a couple weeks ago and she has thus far made 2 calls and sent maybe 5 text messages. I think she fears wasting minutes, which she has to buy.

Last week she had a piano recital and played her pieces wonderfully. If I had my act more together I would post video but...alas...

She too is looking forward to junior high camp at Camp Spalding in a couple weeks,and family camp after that. And the BIG adventure will be her school trip to Washington D.C. in September. Yes, as an 8th grader. I'm highly upset about the whole thing.

Church...aka, our fourth child, is doing well also. In the past year God has grown us, deep and wide, which is the best way to grow. We started a women's group, launched a new community group, got a wonderful visit from Gabriel and Lily, our missionaries in Kinshasa, DRC. Our children's ministry has boomed since it is apparently a requirement for new members that you have many small children. We have outgrown our current location and may be very close to signing a lease on a new space which will allow us to grow. More important than all of that, lost people are being saved, people are being discipled, and we're learning better what it means to live on mission. All of grace.

Summer: We've had a summer full of travel and fun. We kicked off with a trip to Spokane to see Wicked with the big kids...which was a big hit and inspired the downloading of EVERY single song onto the ipod and the purchase of the sheet music.

Jeff and I got to go to Vail, Colorado for the annual Acts 29 church planter's retreat. It was beyond description. I'm sure I'll write more about it later, but for now I will just say it was wonderfully refreshing and we came home renewed and inspired and reveling in the love of our Father.

The very last week before the big kids head back to school we will be packing up to head to Montana to attend a family camp that Jeff was asked to speak at. We won't know anyone there, but are excited.

And of course the home projects. Our garden grew this year by one raised bed, and is doing really well. We added snow peas to the mix, tried again for blueberries, and the carrots we only wished would sprout last year are flourishing. And we finally finished the deck to the great celebration of all concerned.

But summer has not been without some trying times...Jeff's mom's cancer showed up again despite a winter's worth of chemotherapy. So she had surgery a few weeks ago to remove a tumor and is home recuperating. We are all hopeful that God is healing.

So, there you go. All caught up.