This is the location for the tidbits of Blazer family fun.  I haven't stepped into the world of "blogging" yet, but figured I'd use this page to just write quick updates about personal and family on goings.  Enjoy!

November 9, 2009

Moving. Messes. Running. Craziness.

Seems that about sums it up.   The end of August, we moved into a house about 2/3 of the way done.   We had one toilet functioning and no kitchen.  We waited for 7 weeks to have both washer and dryer functioning.   For three weeks I washed dishes in the laundry room washboard sink.  For two months I had brick layers, painters, wood guys, etc, etc working in every corner of the house and even just taking a bath had to be planned and cleared by several people.   7am on the dot, they were here, and we all needed to be ready with doors unlock and surrendering free access to the house.   Wow, it was something.   We seemed to make it through and are now on the other side.  Our sanity for the most part intact.

Tim's parents left for the States and officially finished their ministry here in Brazil.  They were here several different times as they wrapped things up and finally left on November 2.  It was sad to see them go. 

The kids keep plugging away at school and are doing well this year.  I don't feel old enough to have a kid in Jr. High, but I do and I am.  Yikes.

Tim and I finally got our day away.  We combined ministry with pleasure and went to a seminary about 4 hours from here.  After meeting with the seminary professor, we returned to a larger city with nicer malls and a Starbucks and spent the night there.  Just the two of us.  I was lost!   It was really nice for us though.  We relaxed....the best we could since it's hard to after so many years of not a single "down day" without kids.  Shopping was fun.  Tim had more Starbucks in 24 hours then any body should....but guess it's his fill for the next few years. 

Furlough is just around the corner so we're gearing up for that....both with scheduling churches and getting our holidays with families all sorted out.   Once we get there we'll make the decision on school and such for the kids.   Leaving our newly constructed house will be difficult as there is so much to do and a feeling of frustration to just let it sit for a year.   I was really hoping for some kitchen cupboards, but no can do.  We have no cupboards.....so it's not really pretty, but we improvised and it's working out just fine.

We only have one free night a week for the family and cherish those times.  We also have some dear Brazilian friends that we weekly get together with just to have fun.   One highlight is that next week we have our Field Council family retreat that will be 3 more days away to receive some spiritual nourishment and rest.   We are all so excited.

Gearing up for the new year and craziness of year end activities.  The ministry update has lots more info on what fills our days......but we're so blessed and thankful that God has given us each other and the joy of being a family.   Even through the craziness of four kids there's not a day that I would trade for any other.   We live each to the fullest, serving God with our all and looking to loving Him more and knowing Him better as a family the next day!

August 5, 2009

Honestly, how embarrassing!  Why bother having a page if I only update it once every 6 months.  Sorry, to those few that check in and want news!  This is suppose to be all about family so I'll try to avoid the tendency to carry on about church stuff.

Well, we are knee deep...no, neck deep....no, over our heads in construction.  We actually sold our current home in December 2008 and were granted permission to stay here until we build a new house.  The reason for the move and build was to get a house that would be less expensive, less maintenance, and easier to leave for our furloughs in the States.   That it exactly what it will be, so we are so thankful for all that God has done to bring this about.  The construction itself has gone smoothly, it just adds another thing to run after every day.  We pretty much gave up any free time or rest time in order to get this done.  Once we move in and furlough comes around next year, we'll be thrilled I'm sure to have something so much easier to close up for a year with little costs other than the mortgage itself.   We do praise God for that!   But running after stuff and trying to get bids on things and needing to get cheaper and cheaper and cheaper....deciding if we can live without interior doors to start, etc has made for a lot of mental work.

As a family and couple, we are doing great.  We've celebrated Tim's, Andrea's, and Levi's birthday.   Unfortunately, we lost all the pictures of Tim's birthday on a memory stick that went bad.  However, we do have pictures of the others posted.

My Dad and sister Becky came down for a wonderful visit in March.  That was definitely the highlight of the spring season for our family.  We took two days off with them and traveled to a nearby town.  It was great.

The kids are getting huge.  Robert is exactly my height right now.  My Baby Levi just turned 3 ...has been potty trained for many months...is in a full sized adult bed.....and still won't eat meat (except for a very few options).   Julea is reading like crazy and finally has broken through the laziness barrier of first grade reading.   Moriah still works on her crafts daily and makes more crafty messes then any one girl should.  BUT, she's great about picking them up too.

I've been kind enough to let both Robert and Moriah have sleep over during this summer break....having up to 5 extra kids at a time.  Robert has also done more medical testing in an effort to better diagnosis a medical condition of his...which is still very perplexing and seems unanswered.   All the kids are excited about the upcoming move.

Robert has already started the next school year, and I'm SOO excited that our missionary teacher has come back to Bauru so that after 2 years of home schooling Robert, he now has an option of a new face for at least part of the day!   Moriah and Julea will start classes next week.  And Levi stays home, runs around with his cars and begs for attention.

Tim and I went to a wonderful dinner to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.   I so badly wanted to do something this year....we didn't do anything for our 10th either.....but with the construction and business of ministry it just wasn't feasible.  Plus, who would I leave four kids with???  Anyway, we've never celebrated our anniversary with anything other than a dinner out, but have hopes to start saving maybe for something special for our 20th.   Tim was my high school sweetheart, he was my first kiss, and I'm happy to say when we were chatting at dinner I asked him what was the "worst and best" year of our marriage...he responded that they've all been equally wonderful.  God has blessed us.

We gave our two dogs away since we won't have money to wall in the property around our house, and the kids were especially sad to see them go.  Tim's parents are leaving Brazil after 35 years of ministry and we've been helping them with this transition.  They've stayed here, and we've stored thing for them as they travel.  It's been interesting seeing the contrast of the end of a long missionary career to us as we're just 11 years with ABWE this summer.

Well, Levi is helping himself to lunch so I better go intervene.   I'll try to write more frequently here....I'm not a facebooker or twitterer yet....so this is it....and it's enough for me to keep up with!

Take care all,

Andrea

Feb 14, 2009

Valentines Day.   Oh well, maybe we'll celebrate next year :)  This last week and week to come are super busy for us as we prepare for a retreat to be held at our home.  It will start with the teens spending the night on Friday and then the whole church family here on Saturday for 2 seminars on holiness and a special service.....but that's ministry.....family news to come....

It seems that Moriah has taken a special interest in sewing...hand sewing that is.  She made a tank top for Julea and a pair of underwear for Robert.  Robert was appalled so I promised not to post a picture of the baby blue material with snowmen on it....that were in Moriah's mind a decent pair of underwear....use your imagination....a 10 year old cutting her own pattern, hand sewing old material into what slightly resembled a pair of ladies bikini underwear for her 11 1/2 year old brother.   Was very humorous!  

Robert has taken a serious interest in cooking and now wants to be a professional chef....hmmm....I just think it's the growing spurt and his appetite is out of control.  He's keeping up in school despite his obvious distain for reading.  What am I to do?  He's a faithful prayer warrior though and often reminds us of requests that we've forgotten or left out of our family devotions.  He daily runs to the computer to get his next message from Grandma Wyant....they've turned into quite the little pen pails.

Levi has just taken off in his vocabulary and is quickly repeating all kinds of phrases that we didn't intend for him to repeat....mild, but beyond his age appropriate vocabulary.  Yesterday he was thrilled to have been left alone in the kitchen with no one watching......and that cake Mom had just made was barely within his tip toe reach on the top of the stove cooling.   Down came the cake....breaking into thousands of tiny pieces....and to his delight it seemed that no one heard for about 4 minutes......so what else is a 2 year old to do but dig in until he couldn't eat anymore.   I had fun explaining to our small group Bible study why I didn't have the birthday cake I had promise Vanessa.

Julea I think is going to be a biologists.   She can't leave bugs, frogs, animals, etc alone.  I constantly find tupperware containers made into shelters (or prisons) ...including water, grass, food, sticks etc for any type of bug she can catch and hide in her room!    She knows no fear of the creepy and crawly....even scorpions don't seem to bother her....although she won't touch....she'll get close enough when the rest of the girls are on top of the table yelling for Dad.

And Tim and I....hmmmm.  I'm finding my identity again, or at least I'm finding my sanity again.   Our MK teacher just returned from her furlough and after home schooling all three, I now can send the two girls to study with her.  So, it's just me helping Robert and keeping Levi happy.   Three semesters of all three is about all I can handle with a toddler at home.

We are still reading word for word through the O.T. for family devotions.  We've reached II Chronicles.  So, it's been fun reviewing many of the stories we also read in the Kings.  The kids are just soaking up the O.T. history and really learning more about who God is and how He chose to work and reveal himself through history.

Well, Tim just got home...so I'll finish for now.  Take Care, Andrea

January 3, 2008.......ooopps, 2009 that is!

Here I sit in the hot, Brazilian weather trying to cross that one last thing off my list for today:  update the web page.  I can hardly keep my eyes open, I have bleach on my shirt from cleaning earlier this afternoon, my hair is full of clips, bobby pins, and pony tail holders that I've come across misplaced during the day and decided to use them to hold back my frizzy fly-aways.   It seems as if the girls " can't sleep"  tonight so I'm occasionally yelling back for them to be quiet.   About 6pm Robert finished a Science test that he was suppose to take two weeks ago before Christmas break while Moriah and Julea were busy planning their princess show for mom to attend.

Life is fun, isn't it?    Recent happenings in a nutshell......Levi performed for the first time at church 2 weeks ago...he sang and played his guitar, Julea lost two more teeth and spent her tooth fairy money on a chocolate popsicle, Moriah wants to start hand sewing some clothes, and Robert finally finished his big research paper on Pearl Harbor.  Both Robert and Moriah brag daily about how many calories they burned on my treadmill.  At least someone is using it!

I have a whole list of things I'd like to start in the New Year...oh wait, that was 3 days ago.  Better get going on that list...yet another list!

Julea turned 7.  She's the most easy to please child and was happy with strawberries and chocolate instead of a traditional cake.  The day of her birthday was crazy for us as we baked like crazy and were running around getting ready for service that night at church.  When we got to Tim's parents for Christmas, I made a real cake that she chose from the same cake decoration book that both Tim and I chose from as a child...maybe you used it too....you can chose any shape and it gives the directions of how to cut traditional shapes of cakes and piece together the pieces....the umbrella, rocket ship, race car, bunny, heart, flower, jet airplane, football, etc.   Julea chose the bunny rabbit....see family pictures.

It's been raining non stop here so things are muddy and gloomy.  I hear Michigan is cold and snowy, so I'm not complaining.   The mud makes it harder to clean house since no one takes their shoes off here.

We had the typical million things going on between Nov and Jan, but we all managed to survive with some sanity left.  Read our ministry update to get the details on those events.

We spent Christmas with Tim's parents about 5 hours from here interior.  It was about 95 degrees most days and nights.  We melted the days away and really enjoyed our time together.   New Year's eve we spent with a Brazilian family with the traditional huge meal about 10pm and a toast of sparkling juice at midnight.  We were the firsts to leave at 1:30am......of course, we were the only ones with small children so I didn't feel badly breaking up the party.

Tim just arrived home at 10:30pm from Saturday night church activities.  Robert is trying to tell me all about his new youth group devotional book, so I better listen intently while thinking of the things on my list that didn't get done.   We go back to full time school again in a week, so this is my last week to get the house in order before the next few crazy months and most likely my last time to update this family news for a bit too.

As Brazilians would say:   Hugs to all!   Andrea

November 10, 2008

Wow, there's so much to share.  We finally got a family vacation!   First real vacation we've taken since we arrived in Bauru 8 years ago.  It was wonderful.  My Mom (Cindy Wyant) met us as a surprise at the airport on our way north.  The kids had no idea and were thrilled to see Grandma.  We spent a week in the coastal city of NE Brazil where Tim was born and raised.  Then we traveled 10 more hours NE to the city where we met in High School.  That week was fun as we all got a nasty, nasty flu and each day was spent with someone in bed/bathroom.    See the family picture page for the beautiful NE of Brazil.   Our first day there Julea was stung by a Jelly Fish (ouch!) and Moriah cut her head wide open.  Was a great start.    We spent a day on a nearly deserted island off the coast and ate fresh sea food and fruit served on the beach.  It was two weeks we will never forget.

When we arrived home, my Mom spent another week with us here before heading back to Michigan.   Sadly, our dog became very sick and spent 5 days suffering in the vet hospital before passing away.  That was a horrible and hard experience for the whole family.   We brought her home and buried her here which was hard, but it was also part of the healing process.   The next day the kids wanted to look for another puppy of the same breed.   It took me about 5 days of tears before I was willing to consider another one.  SO, finally when I decided we could look, we went to a family who was selling them super cheap (about a 5 hour drive) and ended up bringing two home.  (see the family pictures too).   These breed is similar to the English Mastiff (I think that's it).  They are huge.  When full grown they can look a 3 or 4 year old straight in the eyes.....her head comes above my waist.  They are huge but wonderful family and guard dogs...very docile.  So, with two, we now have to have a budget item just for dog food.

The week after that Tim's parents returned from furlough and stopped over for a few days here to visit.  At the same time, Leah, Andrea's sister, also came to spend 13 days with us.   So, we've had lots of changes, lots of visitors, and lots going on.   Meanwhile trying to keep up with schooling for 3 of them has been crazy!

The kids are doing well.  Levi is actually managing to play the guitar now (without chording).  He strums with a pick, uses the other hand to pretend chords, and sings.  It's something.  We are actually eager to start him with lessons....they say between 3 and 4 years you can.  It's definitely something special.   Robert has started attending youth group.  Scary for me!   Where does time go?

To close, we have recently been so blessed to baptize many in our church...and as we contemplate what God is doing....it has profoundly touched us that we have personally been used of God to lead so many of the 24 baptized to Christ.   Tim's whole small group of 12 (except 1) has now accepted Christ and been baptized.   Whole families are coming and making new commitments.  It's just amazing to see and be a part of!

I'll try to write more sooner then later!

July 28, 2008

July has been a fun month.  Both Mom and Levi celebrated birthdays.  Tim tore ligaments in his ankle and ended up on crutches and not able to drive for over a week.  We had the big inauguration service at church which was crazy getting ready for (check out the church pictures to see that).   We got all the kids bikes fixed so they've been spending most of their days outside which is great for their "summer break" from school.  They continue to put a lot of hard work into their garden and other plants.   It's been chilly on and off but we're surviving.  We did have a family game of softball the other day.  Two people on each team and Levi running around trying not to get hit with the ball.  We all got hits despite how old or young the pitcher was.  

My big birthday present from Tim was a "honey do list" about 10 items long.  I finally couldn't stand all the little things....broken light switches, no light in my laundry room for over 6 months now, a broken drawer, a little paint here and there.  I loved it and finally have most of the little annoyances taken care of....for now.

Levi's birthday was a crazy day with a baby shower that I spoke at and helped set up for all afternoon.  I just got home in time for Tim to leave to the university students Bible study.   We did manage to sing and eat some cake together.  The highlight was him opening his very first guitar.....which he usually calls his "ball, ball" since his favorite song to play is from Elmo's video "ball, ball".   He does insist on using a pick to play though, so I'll have to get a few more of those on hand since he loses them so quickly.

Today, we went with a couple from our church to a farm in the middle of no where.  The environment was a little scary and primitive, but the adventure was lots of fun.  The kids couldn't resist the river and ended up swimming in the river and even playing in a small water fall (more like a little water falling over some rocks).  It was a great time and a good change of pace as we're getting ready to jump back into school already.

We're planning to take a family vacation in September and we're all getting so excited.  We need it.  I'm knee deep in getting next year's school organized and grading system in place.  We finally got the classroom picked up and weeded out all of last year's things.  When I sit down and realize that I have kids in 6th, 4th, and 1st grade, it hits me how old I am.   I finally decided that the 20 gray hairs I have need to be covered....so got highlights for only the second time in my life.  I'm not ready to swallow my pride and color my hair just yet so this will do for a few more years.

Robert is in love with pocket knives and spy stuff.  You can imagine that combination.  Julea plays for hours and hours all by herself with Polly Pockets and Barbies.  Moriah reads and reads especially anything American Girl.   Levi is going crazy with words in both languages and finally said "guitar".   He doesn't say "car" but says "go" instead.....I guess that's what you go in anyway to get somewhere.

We're up to Samuel and Israel asking for a king in family devotions (started with Genesis 1 a few months back).  The kids continue to love it.  Just to keep Levi interested, we randomly break out singing the B-I-B-L-E for him.  He loves that song too.   It's so amazing seeing the kids understand God's plan from the beginning, His grace and patience, even His wrath and judgment.  They're finally putting the pieces together from the stories they've heard all along.  It's amazing.

Since time is precious now days, that's about all I'll write.  Gotta get up early tomorrow.

June 23, 2008

These last 8 weeks have been crazy.  As we moved from old church building to new rental facility, life became craziness.  I barely remember cooking meals as we ate in the car, in the church (both old and new), on the run, at the gas station, etc.   We finished the last few weeks of home school in all kind of weird places.  The kids sat on dirty floors taking tests and trying to write out math problems.  It was fun!   We had lots of time together...although stressful at times for Mom.   Moriah and Robert helped a lot in the cleaning and organizing of things during the hours spent at church, but they too got tired and ended up watching movies with Julea.  Moriah managed to accumulate over 40 hours of "babysitting" Levi during meetings and cleaning days which go toward her earning a doll on ebay.  It's a win/win situation for all.

Tim's birthday (June 18) was a normal day spent in an all afternoon meeting and then our Wednesday pm counseling appointment cancelled, so we went out to eat.  We got him a new cell phone with an actual monthly plan rather then pre pay minutes.   So we moved up in the world of cell phones.  He was a happy camper. 

Andrea spent that whole week with the Mumps.  Of all things and of all people, Mom had to get them.   I was pretty much in bed for two straight days and then started to bounce back and started to work on the recovery project for the house (two days without Mom ....well, it's amazing what can happen or not happen!)

Being done with school for the year is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.  Although the teacher (Mom) gave plenty of summer homework.  The biggest project recently has been the planting of trees and a garden.  We're trying to get the kids involved more with nature, planting/growing, and caring for things.  It's been fun and a great learning experience.  Even Levi got involved in throwing dirt around.  They planted 10 rose bushes for me...beautiful.

I've been walking down memory lane as I sort through what's left of my baby clothes.  We have ladies expecting both a boy and a girl, and I'm on a mission to donate the rest of baby stuff.  It's weird to close that chapter in life, but I'm ready to move on to bigger and better.....well, bigger at least :)

To wrap it up, both personal and ministry news, Tim and I are weekly mentoring a couple.  It's been challenging and yet already fulfilling.  We are praying sincerely that God will use this couple to do great things for Him as they grow and mature and start to serve.  Being a Mom of four, I guess nurturing comes naturally.  My passion is evangelism and just "loving" and guiding new believers.  And in a sense, my children are new believers that need loving and guiding as well.

We pray daily for Levi's salvation, and Julea prays every night that she'll soon be able to be baptized.  In family devotions, we are studying through the Old Testament.  It's been a wonderful review for Mom and Dad and so exciting to see the kids discover and learn so many of God's attributes and His character through the OT stories.  We're in Judges right now (although we skimmed through Leviticus for obvious content reasons with little children) we read almost word for word since Genesis.    The kids thought it was great that Gideon had 70 sons....imagine!

We killed our first scorpion of the season......Wednesday morning in the kitchen.  Moriah found it and screamed.....we're just thankful that Levi hasn't run into or stepped on any yet.  Of course, we took pictures for fun.

Gotta run and finish dinner.   Drop us a note or send a link to your blogs and updates:   ablazer@abwe.cc

Andrea for the Blazers

May 8, 2008

Just a quick note.  This week Levi got his first hair cut and last immunization until he turns five.  Both were eventful.  Robert finished his research paper and did a great job.  He managed to write 3 pages (front and back worth).   Moriah learned how to make herself an omelet and anyone else who wants one too!  Moriah has turned into our personal trainer as she made up a eating/exercise plan for Robert and seems to be always reminding us what's healthy and how much exercise we're all getting or not getting.  Julea loves to play with "narbles" instead of marbles and asks Dad to play his "dik-kar" instead of guitar.  She has a cold and a little "smokers voice" which is so cute.

Since Sunday is Mothers' Dad...it's always interesting watching the kids trying to keep secrets.  We survived having 80 people at our home last week, and I think the house is finally back in order.  I've been having fun bidding and mostly losing on ebay the last few days as I search for patterns for American Girl doll clothes.  My girls have discovered the American Girl dolls, but they haven't discovered the reality of what the outfits cost retail!  That's my reality.

Other than the family, I feel as if my ministry has centered around encouragement lately.  Seems to be that everyone needs the peace that only He brings.  So I try to pass that on with some wisdom that only He brings too.  

Last week our family night was around a camp fire roasting hot dogs and making smores.  It rained for a few minutes, we all got wet, and then returned for more.  Levi made a royal mess with the marshmallows and even plastered his stroller with the goooo. 

After six weeks of not having a home phone, we finally have one.   I forgot how wonderful modern technology is, and it took a few minutes to remember how to dial out.  ha, ha.  must have been tired.  We're back into the land of the living.  After getting used to not having it......we kind of enjoyed the silence....but are glad to be back in the game now too.  Always something fun.

April 17, 2008

Life as "normal" ....whatever normal is ....continues here in Bauru.  The three older kids (Robert, Moriah, and Julea) are home schooled and that's always the first focus and priority of our days.  Meanwhile, we all take turns trying to keep Levi happy during that time.  Both Robert and Moriah were at the Dentist today and came home with numb mouths for the first time.  We had lots of good laughs at the goofy smiles.  One of our best laughs this week was when Dad (Tim) tried on one of Mom's shirts.  Of course it didn't fit so well, but that wasn't the problem.  Julea was mortified and yelled, "take that off before you get Mom's bra germs!" :)

Levi gets up every morning asking to "go, da-da".  He loves to get in the car and go anywhere.  He's not that happy once we get where ever and keeps asking to go, go, go.   Robert started his first research paper this week in school, and Moriah is learning how to make homemade jewelry.  It's scary how fast they grow!

Tim is healing still slowly.  He had a flu that lasted about 3 weeks and was a scary process.  It reminded us so much of when he first started getting sick in Sept. 2007.  It appears that he's now pretty much back to his normal.  Family day is Friday when we try to do something special just our family.....I'm still trying to come up with something creative for tomorrow.

  Blazer family at Church's anniversary service.  6 yrs.   April 2008

March 26, 2008  

It is amazing how we've learned that we are completely not in control of our own lives.  Just a quick note regarding why it's been since September that I last wrote.  The first week of September, Tim became ill.  His illness became worse, and we were soon involved in endless medical appointments and testing before it was decided that he needed to return to the States to seek diagnosis and treatment.  He traveled back with only three days notice, and the rest of the family soon followed. 

We anticipated being in the U.S. for 5 or 6 weeks, but God had other plans.  Did He ever!  We earnestly sought an answer to Tim's illness and only by the end of January were we able to begin a treatment plan.  We are very thankful that his illness was not life threatening and that following a very strict recovery plan, he should be able to continue serving and working here in Bauru, Brazil.  To try to summarize the lessons learned would take pages.  God taught us how to wait.  God taught us about priorities.  God taught us how to handle the stresses and disappointments of ministry.  He taught us how important the stewardship of our physical bodies is.  He graciously taught us so many things.

Mid February we were able to return to Brazil and allow Tim to start back slowly into the responsibilities of ministry.  We are so grateful to be in Brazil. 

A little family note.  Julea informed us that she's not afraid of anything, "except the anti-Christ of course".  Levi says many things in sign language as well as both languages.  His favorite thing in the world is guitars.  He'll play anything that long and skinny and can sing too.  His newest song is "the B I B L E ".  Moriah got her ears pierced and is all about changing ear rings 10 times a day.  She is a life saver with Levi.  They have a special bond.   Robert has been touched profoundly by the stories of those who have given their lives for Christ....martyrs.  He even prays for them and asked God to tell them how proud he is of them.

Tim and I plug away at keeping the four happy and healthy.  We place a new found value on health and exercise and should buy stock in boneless, skinless chicken breast since that's the only meat Tim can eat with his recovery plan.

Sure hope to keep this family update more current now as we seek to keep all involved in the Blazer happenings.

September 18, 2007

Well, the hot-dry season is officially here and so is my paranoia!  Last night we killed our first scorpion in the house, and that seems to always set into motion a few fun months of scorpions and rattle snakes here at our house.  And along with those, many restless nights imaging the kids encountering one of them.  Especially with a little crawler again....gives me all the more things to worry about :) 

Julea started kindergarten and came home with a huge smile as she recited "i, i, indian" .  This last week, Tim and I traveled to a town about an hour from here and spent 2 1/2 intense planning days with our colleagues.  Our church plant is definitely at a turning point, and we all felt as if we needed to plan out the next few years and all get on the same page.  Furloughs are hard on a team situation too.  There are so many facets to ministry, and it's our desire to plan well so that we appropriately use our gifts and acknowledge where God is working in our midst so that we can focus there.

We've had the flu and colds this week so have spent much time nursing all back to good health.  We've also had several different families out to our house recently and are in the middle of "fix it upper" projects.  It seems that things break so much easier here in Brazil...since the quality is so much poorer of the basic things we buy.

On October 20 we are hosting an event for Julea's Brazilian school and so even now (four weeks early) we are working on the planning and facility preparations.  It should be a great point of contact for many, many families and an opportunity to try to build relationships with the hopes of bridging into church invitations and spiritual conversations.

After talking with my sister today, it seems that she may be visiting in November...which is great news.  We love visitors.   Tim's at prayer meeting with Julea, Robert is doing his homework while Moriah is watching Levi in the tub.  Multi-tasking defines the life of a mother as I also sit down to write ministry updates and prepare minutes for our missions field council meetings since I'm the secretary.    We'll be in touch.

September 3, 2007

Little Levi is now taking 6 to 10 steps before giving up and returning to crawling.  Julea starts kindergarten next week.  Robert started 5th grade, and Moriah started 3rd.  Seems that I'm officially "old" now.

We celebrated Robert's 10th birthday last week.  The biggest surprise was that we got his bike tires fixed and gave him a swiss army knife....every 10 year olds dream gift.  However to appease Mom, the blade is so "mini" it can barely cut open a cereal bag. 

We're getting back into the swing of ministry, and I'm finally back to my organized life that I longed for with the craziness of our trip to the U.S. this summer.