Ben, on learning Korean

Korean is sometimes really hard, but I think I've mastered it quickly.

Michael Card Concert

Michael Card came to the university campus and a kids choir of students from our school and children on campus had the opportunity to sing a song with him.  Unfortunately the concert started at 7, which is when Izzie heads for bed, so on concert night she headed home for "a special night with dad" which included watching Mythbusters.

It was a great concert.  Ben was very excited when Michael Card sang a song based on Psalm 23, which he has been memorizing.  After the concert Ben wanted to say thank you to him, so we went up to the front and Ben got his shirt signed - with his name in Hebrew!

Here's the youtube video. Ben is in the front row on the far right - just look for the white kid swinging his arms!    The kids choir sings 3 songs:  one with Michael Card, one blessing song for Michael Card, and then Happy Birthday because he had missed his wife's birthday the day before.

Tell the World that Jesus Loves You

Birthday Milestone

Ben lost his first tooth on the day he turned 6!  As we were trying to get dinner ready he asked me if I would pull it.  If it came down to it, yes, I would, but I was hoping not to, so I gave him a tissue and suggested he try it himself.  The first time nothing happened.  Then suddenly he was saying that he'd pulled it out.  We oohed and ahhhed, and then he realized there was some blood in his mouth so we traipsed off to the bathroom to rinse and spit. The red in the sink was rather alarming to him despite assurances that it was quite normal, and that the water made it look like a lot more than it really was.  He decided he might need to throw up.  I decided he needed his fingernails trimmed.   Away from the mirror and the sink all was fine and he returned to the living room in fine spirits to show off his snaggle-toothed grin.  (Will post a better picture later...)

Izzie's Third Year: Sept 2010 to 2011

What a sweet, loving, beautiful and smart girl we have! Izzie, we pray this next year will be filled with blessings as you grow even more. Love, Mom and Dad

Guam Part 2: Water

Needless to say we spent a lot of time in and around water while in Guam. One day we went to the Fisheye Marine Park where we walked out on a dock stretching far into the water and then down into an underwater museum. Even though Colin had told me what to expect the water looked so blue and "fake" that I thought they had simply attached aquariums to the outside of the building. But no, the fish were all swimming freely in the water.  There were, however, a couple of feeders (living and non-living) to lure them closer.

You can see a diver at the bottom left feeding some fish.

And here's the other kind of fish feeder.

What a lovely mermaid Izzie makes!

And Grandpa Steve...

One of Ben's favorite parts of the trip was the day they had inflatables at the air force base.

The toughest part was getting up to the top on slippery steps.  With a few extra inches of height, Ben had a much easier time of it than Izzie.

Then there was the hotel swimming pool.  We were in and out of that almost every day too.

The kids got to go by themselves in the "kiddie pool."  Then one day Izzie requested to go to the "Cat Pool" and it took me a second to realize what she was talking about.

Ben and Izzie had a blast playing in the sand. Their favorite game was making "cement."  This involved many different steps - pouring and mixing of sand and water, testing the consistency etc.

The consistency of the cement was the primary concern, and we were all in charge of quality control.

When Ben and Izzie thought they had it up to standards they would bring me a scoop to check.

Sometimes they had to go back and add more water.

Here's a tiny crab we found when the tide was out.

It was a novelty being that close to the beach that was so well taken care of.  Some of us went kayaking, some went snorkelling and saw various kinds of fish and coral reefs, some of us poked a sea cucumber and were disgusted at the stringy white stuff it shot out...  we all had fun!

Guam Part 1: The Governor's Complex

These photos are all from Guam at the Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor's Complex.

Izzie carrying around a coconut she found on the ground.

Entering the latte...

Inside the latte...

View from the Governor's Hall.

Izzie's Arm

On August 2nd Izzie started off her day by standing on half of a plastic Easter egg, falling off, and catching herself on her left wrist. Fortunately the emergency rooms here have very quick service - we were in and out including x-rays and a splint in about 2 hours. After the initial piercing scream she was also very brave, only whimpering a little when the x-ray technician and the doctor who put on the splint had to turn her wrist.

So here is Izzie and her new best friend... the splint.  She will proudly tell people that she broke her radius.

She learned to pose with her fingers like this at preschool.

And here is a shot of the three ponytails that she requested because her friend at preschool has three ponytails sometimes.

Mmmmm... Summer!

In this picture you can see one of the little quirks I love about Izzie - her uneven front teeth.  For some reason one top tooth is shorter than the other, and I think it's adorable.

Toughest Dandelion in the East

I don't think Izzie ever did get any seeds to blow off this one, but it was not for lack of trying.

Just Playing Around

We had an I-Can't-Believe-We-Survived-the-Whole-Semester dinner at a nearby hotel. All the teachers and their families ate from the buffet and then we went for a short walk afterwards. It was too hot to go far, but I took some pictures anyway, and then we retreated to the safety of our car's air conditioning.

Izzie looks worried here, but she was really just being silly.

And cute.  I love the smile on Ben's face!

Can't believe they actually cooperated considering how humid it was!  I guess it helped that their stomachs were full!

Banquet

Recently we got dressed up for a homecoming banquet at our school. The adults escaped being caught in photos, but the children were not so lucky.

We bought Ben a tie - the last one in the store - and it turned out to be much too small for him, but it was cute anyway.

Izzie was excited to wear a new hair clip with ribbons, and a pair of fancy socks.

We (Ben, Izzie, and Nat) arrived late so as to avoid having to keep Ben and Izzie quiet during the ceremony.  We therefore missed the firing of a big cannon containing colorful streamers, but the streamers are much more fun when out of the cannon anyway.

After dinner, the students ran different games and events.  There was a singing room, cotton candy,a coffee house, water balloons, a Mission Impossible challenge, hair to be braided, handkerchiefs to be made...  and the obligatory but ever so popular face painting.  Ben discovered that he likes a kind of dried and pressed fish snack. (He is doing really well at trying new foods. Colin and I don't even eat that one.)  We left tired and happy at the end of the evening... that is until the kids realized they would have to wash off the paint before going to bed.  Ben kept pressing me for details about having my face painted:  how many times have I ever had it done, why, what was the picture etc., and - after a tiring evening and more sugar than a night of trick-or-treating - was highly disturbed that I could not remember every minute thing that has ever happened to me or any person I care about.  I'm sure I have had my face painted numerous times, but I could not at this point in my life tell you specifically about any of them.  I didn't want to make something up just to pacify him.  So, in the slim chance the tables should be turned years from now and Ben should find himself with children of his own crying themselves to sleep in distress because he can't remember what was painted on his face when he was 5, going on 6...   it was a skull., Ben.  A black one.  And I have no idea why you picked that particular design.  Sweet dreams, my love.