A Little Work...

...And A Lot Of Play!

Experts (again!)

So, we have been back in the Good Ol' U.S. of A for nearly 2 weeks now. After having been living in the Basque Country for 6 months, we are enjoying the ease of conversation in our native tongue, we are finding the "system" here to be smooth and effortless, and the coffee and food...well, let's just say...variety is the spice of life! :) It is certainly humbling to live in a foreign culture and foreign language. We are like infants, dependant on those who know how to live and operate in this land. The simple daily activities that we take for granted in our own country, become large hurdles, burdening obstacles that must be manuevered with lots of time and care.
Even though it has been a difficult season of learning, I thank God because He has helped our family to grow. We are seeing areas in our lives that need His sharpening and His careful carpenter Hands. We are learning dependance on Him in ways we never knew possible.
So, for the next two weeks, we will enjoy being the "experts" on everything! But we are excited to return because He has been faithful to us in unimaginable ways and we know He will continue to do so.

Who Needs A Dog?

...when you have ladybugs!

Bike Tales

Jillian never rode a tricycle. I was concerned that she'd never learn to ride a bike. But two days ago, she got on the bike and Gerald has been chasing her ever since.

My Three Girls!

How is Miriam's face?

The Dirt Has Arrived

My parents are putting in garden boxes. They had dirt shipped from California-here is the day of delivery. The kids were ecstatic when this big truck pulled up and "dumped" the dirt right on the driveway. They weren't so ecstatic when they spent two days helping my parents shovel the dirt from the front to the back of the house. But all the hard work sure has cured the jet lag!

Drums And Fun

I have been enjoying the freedom of living in a house again. After 6 months of living in an apartment and constantly having to remind kids to keep noise levels down, the kids are loving loud singing, loud laughter...and loud drums! Gerald thought this would be a great gift for Simon as this was around the time Gerald began to play drums. Fortunately for everyone, these drums do come with earphones!

4 a.m. Is The New 7 a.m.

I hate jet lag.

London Airport

We arrived in Arizona!!! It took 2 planes, and 2 days-but we made it safely. As we were landing in London and preparing to spend a night in England Simon was a bit pensive.

Simon: Dad, are the people in England all like Mr. Bean?Gerald: No, Simon. He's just a funny character.

Simon: (confessing) good...because I was a little scared of him.

On The Road (again!)...

After talking with the person-in-the-know here in the Basque Country, they were able to find our visas in the computer systems (still in process) but will be ready for pick up in early April. This means our whole family has to be present in Los Angeles to pick up our visas. The timing works out great because the kids have two weeks off from school for Semana Santa (Easter break) and Gerald has a conference in Seattle the last week in March.
So...tomorrow our family of 5 begins the 2 day journey back to Arizona for a few weeks (2) to catch our breath and drink 6 months worth of Starbucks, and then Gerald and I will spend some time in Portland to see our wonderful friends and then up to Seattle for our conference. We will finish our trip in Los Angeles to get our much awaited visas before returning to San Sebastian. 4 States, 4 weeks.
I look forward to posting lots of pictures of cousin time. Simon, especially, has been missing his cousin and BFF-Zane. He told Gerald he didn't want to spend a minute without Zane.
We appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this journey!