Leaving again

I can't believe I didn't get more comments on our last post about the motocross track! Thought for sure some of you would have something to say about that... There are people out there still reading this, right? :)

Just wanted to let you know that we take off tomorrow morning to fly from Manila to a nearby island for a conference. Please pray for safety, health, and a refreshing time. While we will be at a beach resort (it's a rough life...), we will not have internet access. So we will be out of touch for a week or so. When we check mail when we get back though, it would be wonderful to have some personal notes from some of you waiting... no pressure though. :)

When we come back from the conference on the 4th of July, we will welcome our very 1st visitors into our home here! They are friends from the States and are part of a volunteer team helping out at the conference. We are so excited to have them here.

Also, please be in prayer for my (Jen's) sister and their family. Her 2nd baby is due any day now!

Just to scare you

Well, this post is made special for all those grandmas and grandpas out there. Thought you may enjoy (in the "I can't look, but I can't look away" kind of way) a few pics of the kids' favorite thing to do here in Lipa. Steve got a motorcycle soon after arriving here, and it has been great for getting around town and avoiding the traffic. Steve has also discovered though that it really relaxes him to ride around the motorcross track near our house. That is one thing, but he took the kids slowly around the track and they decided they love it - all 3 of them! Don't worry - they always wear protective gear - you can see Steve testing out Zach's here.

Their favorite part of the course is this jump in the front. As you can see, they are not exactly flying through the air, but it is still a blast for the kids. Ben doesn't look like he can see very well though out of the new helmet...
Headed off into the wilderness with Dad on the motorbike. Great Daddy bonding time.
All geared up and ready to go. The safety strap keeps the kid close to Steve so they can't bounce off or something.Here's Steve jumping without the kids. He goes a little higher when he's alone. This was the 1st time I took a pic though, and it was ironic cuz the bike died mid-air just after he went airborn. So Steve wiped it at the foot of the hill - right at my feet! Because of all his protective gear, he was just fine though - and so was the bike!
This is not my personal favorite sport for my husband - and kids! - to participate in, but they all absolutely love it, and Steve really is careful and goes slowly - especially with the kids. And while he has had one muffler burn from wearing shorts while riding, he assures me that he won't try anything crazy (and now he always wears jeans...). And I am glad that he has found something that can relax him on a tough day of language, and it is great too for he and the kids to have this special activity to share.

School Daze Again

The Filipino school schedule is different than the one in the States so the kids just finished Filipino summer break, and they just started at their new school. We transfered them to one where their school day will be a little shorter and where we hope more Tagalog will be spoken so the kids can learn it faster (we didn't realize that speaking Tagalog on school property was "bawal" - not allowed - at their old school; there is an push at some schools here to improve the students' English skills by forbidding Tagalog in school; however our kids already speak English - we want them to learn Tagalog so it was not the best option for us). The kids have only attended a few days so far, but they are enjoying their new teachers and classmates. Please pray with us that they make some friends, learn Tagalog, and are a light in their school. Pray that their 2 weeks of absences for our conference last week and the one next week will not negatively affect their adjustment. If you want to drop them a note, we will be sure to pass it on!

Indonesia

Hello again! Well, we arrived home from Indonesia last night. We had a good time there; it was the change of pace we really needed and we had a great time visiting with old friends and meeting some new ones too. The hotel was great, and it was wonderful to be in air conditioning again. Unfortunately, Mikayla got really sick with a high fever, throwing up, and diarrhea. She was so miserable. She did recover before we had to fly home, but it changed the week for all of us. She was so disappointed to miss much of her class, but she did get to participate in some of it and loved what she was able to attend. We were also thankful that - at least so far - everyone else in the family has stayed healthy. Please pray with us that it stays that way!

I can't believe that we went to another country and didn't take any pics all week! But we were not allowed to leave the hotel grounds for security reasons, so it didn't feel much like another country. Besides that, virtually all our friends/colleagues there work in very secure locations so they cannot have their picture taken anyway. So I have no pics to share with you from our time there, but here are 3 cute ones of the kids I took just before we left.

The Coolest Airport

Hey, everyone! I am posting this from one of the 200 free internet stations in the Singapore airport. It is an amazing airport including several botanical gardens, a swimming pool, several spas, and of course - the kids' favorite - lots of people movers. :) I think what has surprised us the most is how CLEAN everything is, and there is even toilet paper and soap in the bathrooms! We are here on our layover on our way to Indonesia for a week of meetings. While we will be busy, we are so looking forward to the break and change of pace.