i prefer kid talk over grown up talk any day!

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!

Ian and Friends

Sammy, Sofie, Ian, Annie and Beniah all came to celebrate Ian on his birthday :D

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

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!