fun days, the fourth, and pictures

Fathers Day present: Boys day at the Royals game. (which got rained out :-( 

Girls day at home: jewelry making, chocolate cake and princess movies. 

What to do with these kids? Why eat your cherries when you can paint your faces with them. Why jump in the puddles when you can take a bath in them? Why make a magazine cut out collage when you can instead cover your entire arms with glue and paste whole pages of magazine on yourself? Isn't that way more fun? 

Riding the tractor with Daddy 

At a relatively close distance (1.25 hours) is a town with a fun mini water park and a dairy queen. Score! 

Some people might think that those of us who choose to leave this country don't appreciate it. But I think the opposite is true. Most people who have lived in other countries, at least those in the developing world, come back with more of an appreciation than ever. This is especially true if you spend any time in countries where freedom is restricted, and where governments are unstable and violence related to politics is commonplace. We are extremely aware of and grateful for the blessings and benefits we have living in this country. And in that spirit, the spirit of not just appreciating freedom but being willing to sacrifice for it, to fight for it, we go out to other countries. We may not be able to obtain civil liberties for people, or fix their government so they can enjoy peace and freedom in the geopolitical world. But we, the Body of Christ, can introduce them to true freedom and true peace.  

We had a special time celebrating Caroline's birthday with family. 

Back to reality with a crash on Monday. Schedule the rest of our shots. Get excited. Buy a handheld GPS, sat phone (they give you a range of options and price points. really, who would consider getting the cheapest when you think about your husband, completely alone, in the middle of nowhere, in a broken plane, potentially with armed rebels from God knows where, or a storm coming, or an injured passenger, with a cheap sat phone? not me. this is one circumstance where i wish i could say: i'd like the most expensive one on the market please! or at least decent. ish), pilot shirts, and some more tools. Get overwhelmed. Find out kids' blood type. Renew passports. Get excited. Become an american citizen. (that one may be a tad more difficult.) Figure out and order 2 years worth of homeschool curriculum. Get sad. Figure out kids' shoe sizes for next 3 years. Get 25 passport pictures per person. (they want us to come with extra, in case we do more traveling). Organize and host fundraiser. Start packing. Back to overwhelmed. Research what kind of malaria medicine to take. Fill out application for another church missions committee. Decide what to share with 5 different classes of kids during VBS. Pick up a few words in Swahili from my handy dandy lonely planet guide. Get excited again. All in a day's work!