Paul, Eli, Hazel and Bethany were making necklaces with me. And this was some of the conversation that day:
Paul: Man! That little bead is so small that God couldn't even find it!
Bethany: yes He could! God sees everything!
Paul: God made the world and we and this house are soooo small to God...he CAN'T see this bead.
Bethany: Yes! God made the bead, he CAN see it!
Paul: Mom....
Mom: Well...(getting my best theological voice) God is very big and He did make this world but I believe that God knows every little detail about us...even as little as you looking for the bead. He sees you...and knows you are looking for that bead.
about 5 min later
Bethany: "i once saw a rainbow in america!"
Me: "oh yeah? didn't you just see one over your old house here in indo too?"
Bethany: "no, that was at my YOUNG house."
about 5 min later
Eli: I LOOOVE american toliets!
Paul: oh me too! you know why?
Eli: cuz you can sit on them?
Paul: yeah...and just rest if you want to. they are sooooo great! i love them too!
Hazel: do you like my necklace?
Bethany: are you kidding me? it's terrible! (pause while hazel looks at her)
Bethany: no its not hazel...i would NEVER say you make something terrible...you're my best friend!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Happy Birthday Ian!
Wow! I know everyone says this...but...WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!!! All of a sudden we don't have a baby anymore? he is walking and trying to talk. dancing and figuring out cameras. laughing from his gut and blowing bubbles from his own saliva. from the get go this guy has been trying to pave a new and different road for his life. he didn't want to come into our family and be the same old-same old! ha ha! no way! he had to go for the breech birth. he went for the complicated nursing. straight away he was a cuddler. i was really happy to finally have one of those :D he is still that way...he is also more daring. willing to climb most anything. he has no fear of opening a door and finding out what is on the other side. if he is told no, he goes back, and no and back and no and back and no and back and no and back. he doesn't let down easy. he can have baskets of 'things' emptied in record time as well. he is amazingly fast! he has earned a nick-name 'baby monster destructo' and he lives up to it! but as soon as he is caught...he turns on the charm and you get the biggest smile or the cutest satisfied grunt. he flirts with his eyes and has a lot of character coming out...this kid isn't boring! he gets right in there with gavin and paul and hazel and feels very hurt and left out if he can't participate. hazel will play beside him until he takes her things. paul is so completely rough with him but he loves it and begs for more. gavin is the oldest and you can tell he totally trusts him. he askes gavin to help him now. he gets a big lower lip and a real high cry if anyone leaves. his sister also likes to dress him up and he enjoys the attention. it's getting so that he will bring her or me dresses for him to put on. he is liking to carry around blankets or towels right now and wad them up and throw them down...lay his head on them. pick them up. throw them down...wad them up...throw them down. trip on them. lay on them and roll around. cute! the only time he sits still is when we put him in his chair to eat. he likes to sit in his "thrown" and watch the rest of us eat and have conversation. i always wonder 'what is he thinking???' cuz he seems to understand. he answers in english, javanese, and indonesian :D ha! with those three he is bound to come up with words every time he opens his mouth! his favorite part of the day is going to school to give lunches so he can socialize with all the people...he has a real eye for indonesians and prefers to flirt with them as we come into the school. and then at 3 o'clock...as we are pulling up to daddy's room to pick him up from school, he lifts his hands and screams, "da da!" and the world is good! our family is better with ian. we couldn't imagine life without him. he brings a lot of laughter and new ways of seeing things. he is only ONE but he has made a big step into our hearts and lives and i know it will only get better from here on out. we are going to have many stories on this kid! we love you ian :D
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Ian's #1 birthday
for his birthday party, i got together as many of the little ones that around here...only 5 could come and then one of the 5 didn't really think it was too cool to "sit" to have pictures taken...so in the end we didn't have ONE good shot of all of them but it was still pretty funny to see them all together :D
we had tiny birthday cakes for ian...he actually grabbed the candle so quickly when we were singing happy birthday to him...and took it out with his finger!
he opened some bubbles and the kids blew them for him while he sat in his thrown
he also has a new tool set and belt so he comes along side us helps to fix things with his new hammer...then we go back and fix what ever he has 'fixed' and it's a constant party!
Field Day Pirates
hazel made me look so lovely...greg is just a natural pirate...i need to try a little harder :D
Mountainview Field Day
Field Day means that teams are made up kids. maybe about 12 kids per team because each team has a kid from each class. then all day the kids played games and had to work as a team with each other and run all over the campus doing strange and creative things. greg and i were in charge of face painting...so hazel painted faces as well but she got side tracked with the eel game...she loved the eels!!!!!!!!!!
paul didn't know if he wanted to do the eels until he saw his sister doing them...he wouldn't be outdone by her! so here he is running to his eel...then he has to carry it all the way back to his team "orange" ...they are slippery little suckers and kids had a hard time getting them back to the team! ha!
i can't believe this! i would never be able to do this and i think nearly every kid in the school did it! amazing!
again...hazel helps out others who are too scared
and here she is...princess of the eels
spaghetti and american idol
on wednesday nights we eat in front of the tv while we watch american idol. and this nite we had spaghetti and ian was being a clown...as usual :D so the kids wanted in on the photo fun too!
Malaysia
does anyone know where this photo is taken? :D
ha
my son paul, was looking at my malaysia pictures and instantly said, "oh! i know where this is! ikea!" he is totally a short fan of ikea...born into it!
yes...now i have been to ikea singapore, and malaysia...besides the 3 in LA :D
twin towers in Kuala Lumpur...this is my friend marie holding up a paper doll...my flat nephew noah...he sends him to me and i take him around like a tourist :D and then send him back home
four ladies from salatiga went to KL for 4 days. we paid under $40 for a round trip ticket and drove around in this very tiny 4 door car...what a hoot!
i have always wanted a picture of this sign but don't offen carry my camera in the bathroom...but here it is..."for your safety, please do not squat on toilets" but alas there are always feet marks on the seat...ha!
our team...and extended team from bandung...got together for a weekend to enjoy each other.
Indo offers exotic
exotic kitties
these guys are a pretty penny cuz i guess they are using them in the fight against aids. if you can get one that is pretty large...they are worth $10,000 right now. we have one living in our roof and we are hoping he keeps growing...for another 10 years...
butterfly fish
exotic kids :D playing exotic bowling :D and yes...hazel really did win!
Gavin's birthday party #8
We try to start birthdays with a favorite breakfast...and they actually had fruity pebbles imported at the store! so this was considered a "present" as the cost was crazy! but they all love love love this cereal and its fun to watch the sugar rise in the morning...hahaha
and we typically throw confetti and that foam spray stuff at the person right when they wake up as well...it's become tradition thanks to our paul! we can't even see straight but we are partying!
and you might notice out our window...it's still dark...
after school we took all the kids in his class to the coolest pool in town and they lived it up
you can tell it's a bit cold...everyone is just a little chilly
shamu...the safe kind
Gavin's birthday party
The cake...for gavin the great...is number 8
The kids really enjoyed these new candles i found...probably not the safest things ever...as i think they are more in the category of fireworks! ha! but it was a show for all :D
a happy 8 year old
when you have hazel and paul...you won't have any problem getting your presents open within a couple of minutes...no matter how tough they are wrapped!
The kids really enjoyed these new candles i found...probably not the safest things ever...as i think they are more in the category of fireworks! ha! but it was a show for all :D
Time passing
Kids crawling on one of the 7 wonders of the world...borobudur temple.
our whole group poses for a shot...so many indonesians were asking for our pictures that day so we decided to get our OWN done as well :D...and our friend Pak Agung is in this shot with us...he travels lots of places with us :D
Here is our friend Rob, he is interning here for several months...he is on his last days in indo
Paul's kindergarten class poses with flat "NOAH"...something my nieces and nephews have sent me in the past and still do...we enjoy takin flat Noah with us to different spots and getting pictures of where we live...and then we send it back to his classroom and they learn about the pictures and where we took him...sort of a vacation in a box...ha!
Kids got a new MP3 player with money for their birthdays
thanks grandpa, grandma, and mike and carrie :D
thanks grandpa, grandma, and mike and carrie :D
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
some funny things
i just went to malaysia for 4 days with ian. greg stayed back with gavin, paul and hazel. everyone did a fantastic job but we had a few good stories to share from the time apart.
+ hazel got her dad to take her on a 'date' and she wore a new dress for him and put on lipstick. :D she picked out his clothes and then they went to the resturant and had a smoothie drink. while they were there, greg did the amazing...he painted hazel's nails...and then she painted his! i never thought greg would do this, so there must be some LOVE. i laughed when i got his text cuz i KNEW we didn't have fingernail polish at home so he would have to wear the nails to school the next day. but oh so sweet!
+ian was enjoying all the people while we shopped for like 12 hours a day! he is such an extravert. but every so often i had to let him down to get out of the stroller or my arms. we were in the apple store, very clean. so i let him down and he went right over to a family who was looking at a lot of gadgets on the wall. he crawled through them and stood up on the little ledge and turned around and said, "ha!" in a bit of a growl as if to say "i have arrived, what do you need?" and a 10 year-old boy standing near him nearly jumped out of his pants in horror and kept jumping until he was about 10 ft away from ian...the baby monster...the poor 10 year-old was frightened because he had never seen a white baby and thought it had to be a doll or something!!! i am so happy i saw this happen because it was halarious! the family thought it was funny as well...except for the 10 year-old.
+ greg took the kids out with "uncle steve" for a sunday lunch at a new spot. the kids were all excited cuz you could fish and play on a playground. playgrounds here are only of metal...kind of like what kids in the 70's played on i suppose??? so gavin, paul and hazel were playing on the teeter tooters and because they don't play on these too much cuz i don't even know where else i have seen one here...they don't know all the "rules" that go along with them. greg was eating and suddenly hazel has blood all over her. somehow the story goes that hazel and paul were on the same side and gavin on the other. hazel stood up when they were up in the air and paul jumped off causing hazel to "fly"...she hit the spot she ALWAYS hits...her mouth...sooo...she knocked out a tooth that was already dead and we had just gotten a small root canal done on it...but the other teeth and gums seemed to be pretty beat up as well. i didn't come home until 24 hours after the incident and her face was swollen and gums brusied. she looks older with the tooth gone. the dentist says the other tooth has been moved/tilted but is not damaged...we will see how this goes. this isn't so funny...but you know these things have to happen while mom is away to play. and dad survives so well through it all. hazel gave paul a good talkin to and NOW they know the rules of the teeter totters.
+ we took a taxi one night after ikea back to our friends house cuz we lasted shopping MUCH later than our friends :D and the taxi driver liked us cuz his wife was from indonesia. and he said in the middle of our conversation, "you have to watch out for all the 'bombs' in this city." and we both looked at each other and mouthed "bombs?" and then said it outloud, "BOMBS?" and he said, "ya, they are all over the roads here." and then it dawned on my friend that he was saying "bumps" ha ha ha! gotta love english translation.
+ we ate at an Indian resturant. amazing food! naan bread is one of my favorite foods...anyway. we were served by a pakistani man. surrounded by all sorts of nationalities and when we walked out to our car, there were 3 nigerians leaning on it because it's such a small little "mr bean" sort of car and they were using it as an armrest. i only tell this really to show you that Kuala Lumpur is quite the mix-up of nationalities and i LOVED it :D we didn't know what language to speak most of the time. made it feel more like good ol bellflower! we were still noticed in KL by our white skin standing out but not stared at like we are in Indo...it was so nice to just be ANOTHER foreigner fittting in to all that were around us from all over the world!
+ the kids drew me pictures to take along and i couldn't open them until i got on the plane. hazel of course writes her name all over her papers now (and even on our walls...when asked who did it...she shrugs her shoulders...couldn't be her!) but anyway...she likes to make the same pictures over and over again and then she folds them up really small and puts them in an envelope and gives it to you. soooo cute! and so i loved my little hazel picture...full of color and butterflies and mommy and hazel hugging :D paul drew a picture of plane and he was flying a kite all the way up to the plane and pulling me down...he also had a big tree with an owl on it. gavin didn't get one done. maybe next time...but it's great to have their little notes tucked away for when i miss them
and i drew them pictures once i saw they were giving me some...sneaky mom...and hazel informed when i got home, "mom, you know we didn't care that you were gone cuz we looked at your pictures you drew and the pictures of you on the wall...so we didn't care" and it's funny cuz i know she didn't mean the word care...but in some sense...it works :D
+ laughing is great for the soul and we did so much of it with the ladies i went with to malaysia. i recomend it to anyone...laughter and malaysia...it was sort of like going to america just 2 1/2 hours away. and air asia has great deals in that we got there round trip for $40! and stayed for free at a friends house...it was a blessing getaway! we ate at carl's jr and nearly cried cuz the hamburger tasted soooo good. kept me full for a full 8 hours! we ate at subway, papa john's pizza. and of course indian food twice :D IKEA was there and we lasted 6 hours just walking around and taking it all in...amazing really! this world is amazing! and halarious!
+ hazel got her dad to take her on a 'date' and she wore a new dress for him and put on lipstick. :D she picked out his clothes and then they went to the resturant and had a smoothie drink. while they were there, greg did the amazing...he painted hazel's nails...and then she painted his! i never thought greg would do this, so there must be some LOVE. i laughed when i got his text cuz i KNEW we didn't have fingernail polish at home so he would have to wear the nails to school the next day. but oh so sweet!
+ian was enjoying all the people while we shopped for like 12 hours a day! he is such an extravert. but every so often i had to let him down to get out of the stroller or my arms. we were in the apple store, very clean. so i let him down and he went right over to a family who was looking at a lot of gadgets on the wall. he crawled through them and stood up on the little ledge and turned around and said, "ha!" in a bit of a growl as if to say "i have arrived, what do you need?" and a 10 year-old boy standing near him nearly jumped out of his pants in horror and kept jumping until he was about 10 ft away from ian...the baby monster...the poor 10 year-old was frightened because he had never seen a white baby and thought it had to be a doll or something!!! i am so happy i saw this happen because it was halarious! the family thought it was funny as well...except for the 10 year-old.
+ greg took the kids out with "uncle steve" for a sunday lunch at a new spot. the kids were all excited cuz you could fish and play on a playground. playgrounds here are only of metal...kind of like what kids in the 70's played on i suppose??? so gavin, paul and hazel were playing on the teeter tooters and because they don't play on these too much cuz i don't even know where else i have seen one here...they don't know all the "rules" that go along with them. greg was eating and suddenly hazel has blood all over her. somehow the story goes that hazel and paul were on the same side and gavin on the other. hazel stood up when they were up in the air and paul jumped off causing hazel to "fly"...she hit the spot she ALWAYS hits...her mouth...sooo...she knocked out a tooth that was already dead and we had just gotten a small root canal done on it...but the other teeth and gums seemed to be pretty beat up as well. i didn't come home until 24 hours after the incident and her face was swollen and gums brusied. she looks older with the tooth gone. the dentist says the other tooth has been moved/tilted but is not damaged...we will see how this goes. this isn't so funny...but you know these things have to happen while mom is away to play. and dad survives so well through it all. hazel gave paul a good talkin to and NOW they know the rules of the teeter totters.
+ we took a taxi one night after ikea back to our friends house cuz we lasted shopping MUCH later than our friends :D and the taxi driver liked us cuz his wife was from indonesia. and he said in the middle of our conversation, "you have to watch out for all the 'bombs' in this city." and we both looked at each other and mouthed "bombs?" and then said it outloud, "BOMBS?" and he said, "ya, they are all over the roads here." and then it dawned on my friend that he was saying "bumps" ha ha ha! gotta love english translation.
+ we ate at an Indian resturant. amazing food! naan bread is one of my favorite foods...anyway. we were served by a pakistani man. surrounded by all sorts of nationalities and when we walked out to our car, there were 3 nigerians leaning on it because it's such a small little "mr bean" sort of car and they were using it as an armrest. i only tell this really to show you that Kuala Lumpur is quite the mix-up of nationalities and i LOVED it :D we didn't know what language to speak most of the time. made it feel more like good ol bellflower! we were still noticed in KL by our white skin standing out but not stared at like we are in Indo...it was so nice to just be ANOTHER foreigner fittting in to all that were around us from all over the world!
+ the kids drew me pictures to take along and i couldn't open them until i got on the plane. hazel of course writes her name all over her papers now (and even on our walls...when asked who did it...she shrugs her shoulders...couldn't be her!) but anyway...she likes to make the same pictures over and over again and then she folds them up really small and puts them in an envelope and gives it to you. soooo cute! and so i loved my little hazel picture...full of color and butterflies and mommy and hazel hugging :D paul drew a picture of plane and he was flying a kite all the way up to the plane and pulling me down...he also had a big tree with an owl on it. gavin didn't get one done. maybe next time...but it's great to have their little notes tucked away for when i miss them
and i drew them pictures once i saw they were giving me some...sneaky mom...and hazel informed when i got home, "mom, you know we didn't care that you were gone cuz we looked at your pictures you drew and the pictures of you on the wall...so we didn't care" and it's funny cuz i know she didn't mean the word care...but in some sense...it works :D
+ laughing is great for the soul and we did so much of it with the ladies i went with to malaysia. i recomend it to anyone...laughter and malaysia...it was sort of like going to america just 2 1/2 hours away. and air asia has great deals in that we got there round trip for $40! and stayed for free at a friends house...it was a blessing getaway! we ate at carl's jr and nearly cried cuz the hamburger tasted soooo good. kept me full for a full 8 hours! we ate at subway, papa john's pizza. and of course indian food twice :D IKEA was there and we lasted 6 hours just walking around and taking it all in...amazing really! this world is amazing! and halarious!
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