Birthday Blitz

On February 16, Mikayla turned 12 years old! 

 At her request, we decorated the gazebo and had a cookout to celebrate.

 Our previous neighbors (they moved away :( ) helped us celebrate her big day.

(And, yes, we know the pic on the banner is from several years ago - we were only home a couple days before her bday, so we had to throw the party together.  This pic was the only one Steve had on his phone when he decided - spur of the moment - to make a banner for her.)

 Mikayla is becoming a beautiful, Godly young woman, and we are very proud of her.  We can't wait to see what God has in store for this one-in-a-million girl.  We love you, Mikayla Faith!

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The day after her birthday, we left on our next trip - Steve up north to Bugkalot land and the kids and I to Thailand for their annual academic testing.  Steve was able to visit both the southern and northern areas of the Bugkalot, and the trip was very profitable (more on that in our next update & posts).  The kids and my trip to Thailand went pretty well too - their testing scores were very encouraging as they showed that, despite our hectic travel schedule and doing school "on the run" more often than not, they are still thriving.  Zach got sick during our time there though, and we had a nightmare trip both there and back (you don't want to hear the details, believe me!), but we survived it and arrived home ready for a REST.

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Two days after we arrived home, Ben turned 8 years old! 

 Since we had all come back from our trips pretty sick and needing some serious rest, we were thankful that he was happy to do a low-key celebration at the wakeboard park.  The boys rode bikes and skateboards while the rest of us chatted and read.  Then we enjoyed the yummy chocolate cake Ben had picked out.

Ben has grown a lot in His relationship with God this past year, and we are excited by all that God is teaching His young heart.  We are proud of our 8-year-old (can't believe our "baby" is EIGHT?!?!) and know that God has big things planned for him.  We love you, Ben!