Dee Dawg turns 7!

What a blessing to have Daniel in our family! Recently, you read about his spiritual birthday--when he asked Jesus Christ to be his Savior and Lord. Last weekend we got to celebrate his physical birth that took place seven years ago. How good God is!

How fun it is to be a parent in the Critter Crew!!!

A smiley-faced blueberry pancake for a little boy who brings so many smiles to our family...

On to the fun! After watching several seasons of the Duke's of Hazzard, guess what Dee wanted for his birthday? A General Lee cake...I thought I'd figured out how to make a car look like it was jumping over a pond (!), but finding an orange car...well, that was another chore. Instead, after some persuasion, we decided on his next favorite car--Lightning McQueen. So, on with the

"Cars" theme...

I have to say, this one was much easier than our princess' castle!!

While we were waiting on everybody to arrive, we began a game of "musical derby"...yeah, it may have been a suped up version of musical chairs, but it sure was fun!

Again, we chucked the pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and went with

Pin-the-race-car-on-the-race-track!
I think Allie spun some a little too much!

Erin made it!

Way to go, Brookie!

Need some help, Cabo?

Where's the speedway?

Another one in total confusion!!

Onto the cake and icecream, how 'bout it!

Justin*, Dee, and Asher*

Or we could just make some noise!!!

Daniel's buddies...

Somitri*, Heshni*, Preseph* and Prader*...along with Cabo and TaTa (daddy!)

Archer*, Nimesh*, Ramesh*, and Rathniyake*

Sabrina* and Allie...

Our sweet neighbors...and Veejuh*

And then there's Auntie...We introduced you to Auntie in our last update...she was a homeless lady who has since become part of our family (that's a whole 'nother post!). She continues to tell people, "This is my home," so I'm thinking this look is, "Why are all these people coming to my house?" Yes, Auntie was invited in but she continues to prefer her chair under the carport.

Eva* and Mavery*, our newest buddies on this side!

Dee's gift table...

Daniel got some really cool gifts!

Did we tell you Daniel and Caleb have been taking tennis lessons??

A DS???

Hugs for everybody...

He's such a sweetie pie!

And then it's time to say bye for now...

Ain't she precious???

Seems like just days ago our little Dee was about that size...

And now, seven years later, we're seeing our baby boy grow into someone who loves the Lord, has a desire to read His Word, and a heart to see the lost know Him.

So, when the Lord brings Dee to your mind--as well as any other of our precious kiddos--pray that daily they will seek after Him...the only One worth living for!

Valentine's Day, 2008

What a great day for LOVE! What an awesome God we serve that we can actually say, "We love because He first loved us," (1 John 4:19)! And that's exactly why we're here on the other side of the world--'cause we want everyone to have the opportunity to hear that message!

Thanks to shop owners wanting to get the most out of the holiday season and having Valentine goodies out right after Christmas, we were able to obain a few treats before leaving America...special "I love you" books and heart-shaped SweetTarts!

So after a breakfast of muffins (of course also heart-shaped), apples and SweetTarts we headed to the Montessori to spread some love!

Erin and Brooke's Montessori is owned by a wonderful Christian friend, who thankfully allows us to come and share anytime we want. (I forgot to add that trip in on the Christmas blog--you're probably saying, "whew!"...that would have really been long!)

We were able to read a story about the meaning of Valentine's Day (Voice of the Martyrs has recently published a great read, The Story of St. Valentine: More than Cards and Candied Hearts) and share the gospel with 47 children and 8 workers--most of whom are Buddhist.

The children and teachers also honored Erin with a birthday song and 5 claps...

And what's Valentine's without some treats...so on to the sugar!

Yum! Cupcakes!!

Thanks for hanging with us at Montessori!

Our Princess Turns 5!!!

So, what does a princess need for her number 5 birthday??? A royal party, what else!!! Erin had her very own royal party on Saturday, February 9th...and boy, was it fun!

But before we could have the party, we had to start the day with her requested strawberry muffins..yum, yum! We spent the day preparing for her party at 2. Everyone helped out--have we ever mentioned how great our kids are? They are a huge blessing to their mom and dad! After all the decorating it was time to bring out the cake--just moments before the first guests arrived so the ants wouldn't get into it! And what kind of cake does a princess need??? A castle one!!!!

Erin with her loyal subjects (ie, buddies who attended her royal party!)

Can I eat my cake now?

After cake and ice cream (and a few other goodies), Erin got to open all her royal treasures!

The gift Erin's still talking about...a spend the night party at the Y's home--complete with a special dinner and dessert, fingernail painting, a movie, a concert, and a pancake breakfast! What more could a princess ask for?

Later, we played "Pin the Crown on the Princess"... Other way, Ella!

That's it, little princess!


More fun...
Way to go Brookie!


Now where'd all the boys go???


Whew, being a princess sure can wear you out!

And princesses have to have crowns, don't they! Better make some quick!

It's amazing what you can do with a McDonald's crown,

some tinfoil, gems and some glue, isn't it? Sure doesn't compare to that smile though, does it?

Dress up time!

Didn't I tell you in the Thanksgiving post that she was the most South Asian of all the kiddos? Trust me, this is culturally appropriate....not too appealing as a princess though, huh?!

This is one of Erin's best buddies from Montessori who will be leaving us next week for another country. You can add that to your prayer list for little Ella. Her heart is a little sad about that...

But there's still a little more fun to have (well, Brooke doesn't look like she's having too much fun now...maybe it was the skipping nap part!).

Well, our princess' royal party was a hit!

Erin had a blast with all her friends--
And now our little princess is definitely 5!!!

Oh, didn't you know you've been invited to a ROYAL PARTY as well? God invites each of us to dine with Him throughout eternity...entrance is only through His Son, Jesus Christ, though.
Do you know Him? That's one ROYAL PARTY we definitely don't want you to miss out on!