kuwitzky family

2009-03-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

In the past month, we asked many people to pray and keep their eyes open for housing and a vehicle for us to use during our upcoming stays in Canada and in Arizona. We are happy to say that the Lord responded quickly. Soon after asking for help, the Lord provided a house-sitting gig for us during our time in Canada, which includes a car to drive! As exciting as this provision was, we were admittedly less optimistic about the housing options in Phoenix. We were just having a hard time believing that the Lord would provide something. One day Ben even sat down and started looking through online classifieds for furnished housing, and his mood turned more sour by the minute as he saw the high prices. This morning I was listening to a podcast by a popular Christian speaker while I was working in the kitchen. The speaker was talking about how the Israelites who left Egypt never got to enter the promised land because of their lack of faith, and that sometimes we can miss God’s best if we have unbelief in our hearts. I became convicted of our own unbelief in this housing matter. Right there, I quietly prayed a prayer of repentance on our behalf, resolving to trust God more fully in this matter. Finishing up in the kitchen, I sat down at the computer to check e-mail. There in the inbox was an e-mail with the subject heading, “House for Kuwitzkys.” It was from a couple offering us a fully-furnished 3-bedroom house, ten minutes from our church and family, complete with a huge backyard and a pool! And for no charge! All we have to do, they said, is buy groceries. We are, of course, blown away. That he provided so much more than we ever expected in the midst of our unbelief is a perfect example of his grace to us.

2009-03-31T04:48:00.000-07:00

A while ago I mentioned that I am starting a library for young and homeschooling families here. We decided to have it in Ben's office room which he volunteered himself. We have plans to paint the room and fill it with bookshelves, a rug, lamp and a comfy chair or two. Right now we have the one nice bookshelf you see on the far wall. We went to the second hand market and found a really cheap, but usable (for now) bookshelf for some of the other books. I want to get the room in working order by the time we leave this summer.

We have gotten donations from several places and people and are accepting anything anything right now. I wanted it to be for kids mainly, but any book donations are welcome! We have gotten many adult books recently. We need to raise some money for good bookshelves but I am sure everything will come together soon. My vision is that it be available a couple mornings a week for families to come and use. There is a bathroom off that room and room can be a quiet place for study. It seems like it will be a perfect space for a library. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out!

2009-03-14T10:26:00.001-07:00

Here is the ultrasound pic of our sweet new little life! We are so happy that God is giving us a new baby to love. I am currently 13 weeks, due on September 20th. The past few months have been filled with morning sickness and lots of emotional stress due to where we live. It has been tough but we are coming out of the hardest point and looking forward to coming back to the states for a good 6 month break. We will have the baby at home and are really looking forward to having family around when this little one comes. Rejoice with us!

2009-01-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

I've had to change browsers to get any of my pictures to post, but at least I figured out the problem!

Here are some pics of our bedroom, the before and after. A small group from our church in Kankakee, IL gave us money to do something for our house. We were trying to decide how to use the money. We thought about getting a new (good) mattress but that would be the whole amount of the money. Then we thought about buying a dining room table since ours is still the plastic one we've been using since arriving here, but that would only pay for half a table! So, we decide that we could fix up our room in a bunch of little ways and it would make a big difference.

It did! and it turned out beautiful! Here are some of the things we did -
-put a foam mattress under our futon to make it a little softer
-painted the walls!!!!!
-got an end table made
-little lamp
-new material for curtains and a comforter that I made
-little vase
-mirror

The before picture is seriously what it looked like. We had tried to do special things to a few other rooms in our house, but wasn't able to do anything to ours. The after picture is how we are enjoying it now! It is amazing! We love it so much and can't believe how great it turned out! Thought you all would enjoy seeing it.

2009-01-06T00:06:00.000-08:00

For some reason I can't seem to post any pictures! so sorry! I mean, what is a post without pictures?!!

Anyway, to catch you all up December 21st Ben and I went out to celebrate our 6 year anniversary. We had a wonderful time at a really cool restaurant that we had been waiting to try for a special occacion. It was worth it and we had a really special time.

Christmas day we got to open up some packages that Ben's family had sent. We are still waiting for 5 Christmas packages, but at least we had a few to open on the day. The kids were excited about the slide that Ben and I got them - Jamin was on it all morning! We are still enjoying my new teapot, Bath and Body Works bathroom soap, markers for the kids, new hair things, Jamin's train whistle and the first Season of Lost! Yeah, we are officially hooked now... I held out as long as I could, but we succumbed! Christmas afternoon we hosted our group of 27 people and enjoyed a big meal with lots of special dishes that we don't get to eat every day. Ben set up the Wii and got some games going and people stayed around and we were so happy. It is hard to be away from family, but it seems as the years go by (this was our 3rd Christmas overseas) it just gets better and better. God has given us some really wonderful friends to go through this journey with and we can't thank Him enough.

New Years we went camping in the desert. We borrowed a tent and sleeping bags and drove about an hour north of our city. It is completely barren of trees, flat and dry for miles. There is a bit of scrub on the ground and a few huge piles of rocks. It is truly the desert! We picked a large rock mountain to shade us and set up camp. Two other families from our group joined us and the kids couldn't get enough of the rocks. They were climbing them all day and into the evening. We had a fire, roasted hot dogs and some marshmellows we had saved from the states. Had to have our smores!

2008-12-29T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting! Our internet has been down for a while, but we can't wait to show you pictures of all we did over Christmas. It was busy and so much fun with lots of friends and tons of sugar cookies.

2008-12-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

Several mornings a week Reese and I do a little bit of preschool together. We pull out the books and markers and she loves it! We spend about 20 minutes reading through some classics, poems, another 20 minutes in our reading book "100 Easy Lessons", about 20 minutes in her work book filled with mazes, matching and coloring exercises. We often have Bible memory time, singing time, baking time, and feed the turtle time. She is great about helping me with laundry, watching Jamin and setting and clearing the table. I'm so proud of her. She is getting so mature in all of her 4 years!

Jamin is so precious and finds ways to keep himself occupied while we do school. Other than the shoe basket fun he has, he is also into any kind of moving vehicle. He will drive cars over my legs, onto the couch, try to reach Reese's workbooks and sometimes weave them around Daddy's big drum. He loves to imitate what Reese is doing and has picked up several sign language signs lately. He is so proud when he gets it right and we give him a loud round of applause!

My pictures aren't posting, i'll try again tomorrow...

2008-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

One of Jamin's new favorite activities is playing in the shoe basket. He throws them out one by one and then puts them all back in. He is incredibly cute and so adorable! He is making so many new sounds with his voice, it almost seems as if he is talking. We just can't quite make out words yet. He and Reese are the best of friends. I can't believe it, but am so thankful. The other day we were sitting in the car waiting for Ben and Reese piped up, "Jamin, I love you so so so so so so much." They are such a blessing to us!

2008-12-08T09:32:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple pictures of our living room decorated and ready for Christmas. We have the music going and hot chocolate in the kitchen!

2008-12-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

As soon as Thanksgiving day was done we got into the Christmas mode. We set up the Christmas tree Ben brought back from Kenya for us, pulled out our Christmas music and started baking. Our favorite recipe this year is Grandma June's Sugar Cookie Recipe complete with yummy frosting. I thought I would share it with you all. Let me know if you try it out!

Grandma June's Christmas Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup margarine or butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

Cream wet ingredients together, add dry ingredients. Mix well and chill for an hour. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick, using flour to keep from sticking. Cut out cookies and bake for about 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

Yummy Frosting

1/4 cup butter
2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 TBS. milk
food coloring

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and milk gradually until frosting is the consistency you want.

2008-12-04T04:54:00.001-08:00

Thankyou all who wrote us emails and encouraged us during Thanksgiving week-end! We did miss our families but God gave us a wonderful time with many of our Christian friends and fellow Americans. We had a great big meal with Turkey (brought back from the US frozen and kept in coolers!) pumpkin pie and green bean casserole. Everyone went all out and shared their hoarded special ingredients and we just ate and ate and ate together! Reese had a blast on the great big trampoline and is now praying for a yard, a trampoline and a dog. We will see what happens for Christmas....

2008-11-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

Had to share some pictures of my sweet kids! I took these pictures as a surprise for Ben yesterday and they turned out so well!

2008-11-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you who prayed for us while Ben was gone. He ended up having a wonderful trip and learned a lot. There was much to process and think through and it was good that we were apart so that he could have that time to focus. I was so thankful that God kept me and the kids safe and happy. We were busy with friends, dinners out and play dates! It was good to have Ben come home - especially when he brought us some special things from Kenya... a pillow, dark chocolate, coffee beans and a little christmas tree! We can't wait to set it up and start thinking about Christmas this year.

Two days ago Ben gave me the afternoon off so that I could go by myself to a coffee shop and write some notes. I was eager to get some time alone. About 5 minutes after I drove from home I was hit by a bus at the intersection close to our house. The bus gunned the green and hit me as I was going through. Praise the Lord I was protected. The car did get a big dent and I did get a bit scratched up, but I was safe.

The experience was eventful and I am so thankful that the Lord was with me. I could have been terrified but He gave me peace through it all. After I was hit, several people surrounded the car, directed me to the side of the road and tried to tell me what to do. Because I don't speak the language very well, I just kept telling them I had to call my husband. "I don't understand, wait for my husband!", I kept telling them. They finally got through to me that I was to follow them to the police station and after Ben found someone to watch the kids he made it over there to be with me. It took 4 hours to work through what had happened. They told me that I was guilty although I obviously was the one hit and I clearly remember the light was green when I entered the intersection! It was tough to be discriminated against because I was a woman, alone, without witnesses and unable to communicate for myself. But, I'm so thankful for the experience as it taught me a lot about understanding what it is like not to have rights or a voice. I did pray much that the Lord would use it for good and not allow me to have bitterness or frustration with the culture and He has done that! I'm so grateful for the protection that the Lord provided for me.

2008-11-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

Ben is leaving tonight and is going to Kenya for a conference. I will be here with the kids, trying to find ways to fill our days without our favorite person. Pray for us as we are apart, mostly for safety and that God will teach Ben much during his days away!

2008-11-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

Have we told you all how much we enjoy getting packages?! We don't get regular mail so when we do get something we have a party! Friends from the states sent us some special things that we miss from home like, a princess coloring book for Reese, a new "Living" magazine (yeah for magazines that aren't 5 years old - seriously!) a new car for Jamin and some ranch dressing mix! Thankyou Broten family, we love you and you made our day!

2008-11-05T05:12:00.000-08:00

After lunch...

"Reese, I'm going to get Jamin down for a nap. I want you to look at books on the couch. K?"

"Okay, mommy"

After 20 minutes

Jamin is finally sleeping. Okay, I'll admit I was dozing a bit too.

Reese comes into the bedroom waking up Jamin...

"Mommy, mommy, look what I did!"

"Reese! I've told you not to paint your nails without me, where did you paint them?!"

"On my nails."

"No, I mean where did you paint your nails?"

Jamin is screaming, still very tired.

"On my nails, mommy!"

"Reese, at the table, on the floor? Where did you paint them?!"

"In here mommy!"

Hand in hand she leads me to the bathroom sink, which is COVERED in beautiful Raisin Rage nail polish!

Wish I had my camara, but of course the better thing to do was seriously handle the matter.

So, lets just say I quickly had TWO crying kids, a beautiful new sink color and another memory to add to the collection of raising toddlers!

2008-10-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

Reese's birthday was so much fun. We had such a great party with her friends, reading and watching Cinderella together, eating princess cake and dressing up like princesses! She loved her little baby doll bed and makes sure her baby is tucked in every night.

Just two days ago the weather was so beautiful - in the 80's first thing in the morning! So, before it climbed any higher, I put the the kids in the car and we went over to the park. They loved running in the green grass and looking at the animals in the zoo section. I loved the freedom of driving around. Having the weather cool down a bit here changes things so much. Everyone has more energy and we have been enjoying taking walks in the evenings and visiting friends. I've been driving around, getting more comfortable with the crazy traffic and getting to know the roads a bit better.

Tonight we went out to the beach with some friends. We had a small picnic together and celebrated one of of our Swedish friend's birthday! We are all 27 this year! Finally we are not the youngest couple around!

2008-10-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

J

Birthday pics!

2008-10-20T12:14:00.001-07:00

Reese's 4th birthday is tomorrow and excitement is in the air! Ben and I have been really excited this year about her special day. We started earlier this month by me- making a patchwork baby quilt and quilting it and Ben - designing and having a carpenter at the market build a little baby doll bed. Today Ben picked up the baby doll bed frame, got the mattress man to make a little mattress that fit the bed perfectly and brought it home. Once I saw it I had the dimensions to make a little fitted sheet (complete with elastic and everything!) flat sheet and matching pillowcase (for the pillow I had made too). It turned out amazing and we can't wait to give it to Reese tomorrow for her precious little baby "Sweetheart".

2008-10-10T11:30:00.001-07:00

Tonight Ben and i got to go on a dinner cruise with 25 other couples! We had a wonderful time sitting back and spending time with friends, meeting new friends and even winning a prize. They had a hawaiian theme and we had yummy food catered. There was a quiz that husbands and wives had to take and then compare their answers, Ben and i got the highest score 11 out of 12 and won coffee mugs and Kenyan coffee. We haven't had a chance to do anything like this together as a couple since we have moved overseas and it was such a blessing to have a night to focus on each other and our marriage
.

2008-10-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Another 106 degree day of weather here! We are handling it most days fine by keeping the coolers on or spending the afternoon in our one room with air-conditioning. But, it wears on the body to keep fighting to stay cool so we often are exhausted. Jamin and Reese love their bath times since it give them time to cool down. Here is Jamin wishing for a bath...

2008-09-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have been so terrible in keeping this blog up to date as of the past few months - hopefully tho i'll do better now. We have been back 'overseas' for about 2 months now and getting into the swing of life here.

Jamin is walking all over the place now and turned 1 on Sept.8th! He is so funny and loves to make faces and get everyone else laughing. He has learned to climb and i've been finding him on the coffee table and standing up on chairs. Keeping me busy, but it is so much fun to watch his little personality form that i can not complain one bit!

Reese is now doing school every day. I really can't believe it. We had planned on doing homeschooling with her when the time came and so recently she has been eager to 'do school'! Every morning we sit down together and go through a few books people have given us (because i'm still trying to figure out what i'm going to use curriculum wise), read books together, work on bible memory, sometimes sing, sometimes go into the kitchen and work on a recipe of her choice, etc. She is growing into a beautiful little girl and is such a huge help to me. We have gotten into a good schedule and she happily helps me set and clear the table every meal, keep Jamin away from the ipod dock, pick up her toys and bring Daddy his coffee around 10:00am every morning.

Ben is in love with his job now. He is doing Bible Translation, working with teams to help them translate accurately, checking their translations and helping them understand the original Greek text. It is wonderful that he can do some of his work from home as he often pokes his head out of the office and shares what he has figured out or discovered. I love watching him pour himself into this role God has prepared and equipped him to do.

I have been busy not only with homeschooling Reese, but also hosting the local girls who come to visit us. We serve them food and drink, offer them a place to get out of the hot sun and toys and books to play with. I have also tried to teach them the alphabet etc, but it is alot of work! I have a new Bible Study that God provide for me. I feel so excited about this because this one has some women older than me and I have been feeling the need for some wisdom and godly women to teach me.

Jamin walked into the office while Ben was working and wanted to help Ben for a few moments!

2008-07-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has taken so long to update. We are so busy here. It seems as if the world is going at top speed here at my family's house! We have been taking time to go for long walks here in Kankakee with my new (to me) used Maclaren! I had prayed about finding a double stroller and God provided for me over and over again. He is so good to me. Ben has been spending lots of time working on translation stuff, getting ready for the classes he will be teaching when we get back. We are also involved in a short film that my brother and Ben have been working on for over 6 months. They are about to do some shooting and we can't wait to see how it all works out.

I have so many pics and can't wait to show you all how much fun we are having. In the mean time thanks for keeping up with us and praying for us. We never expected to be here in the states right now but are thanking God every day for this gift - this time of rest and time with family. He is so good to us!

2008-06-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! We traveled back to the States one week ago today. My sister Lib was such an amazing help as we had to travel about 15 hours by air. Both kids did really well and we were so glad to get 'home' to America! Our first stop was Panera Bread to have some coffee and bagels. We missed bagels!!

We spent a few days sleeping of the jet lag and filling our tummies in Kankakee with my family. It is so wonderful to be back with my parents, brothers and sisters. I have missed them so much! But, one of the best things about those first few days was the rain. Reese had a blast getting soaked, watching the rain and using the umbrella.

Now we are in Phoenix with Ben's family. Our objective here is to get doctors visits in and shopping done. There are lots of things we have been waiting to buy and so it's going to be fun. Tonight we are going out to dinner with the grandparents at P.F. Changs. We are so looking forward to it!

2008-05-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

Our days are numbered as we get ready to go back to the States! One week and counting till the day we fly out. God is so good. I never expected that we would be able to go home this year, but He is so merciful and loves to give good gifts to His children. We will be in Phoenix with Ben's family for about 3 weeks in June and then with my family in Chicago for about 6 weeks. Reese has been telling us how much she misses Grandma and Grandpa and so we know that she is ready for this trip too!

This past week we took Lib to the beach. It turned out to be really fun especially with the sandy popcorn and muffins Jamin provided us with! Both kids loved playing in the water, Reese to much, as we had to constantly tell her to come back to us. And Jamin just crawled through the sand and into the water without realizing how close his little head is to the ground! Oh, well... We got some good video which Ben is going to use for our next Update Video. This will be episode 8 that will bring everybody up to speed visually on our last year.

This year has been a good and busy year. How did the time fly by so fast? I say over and over every day how I can't believe how Jamin is growing. He is so cute, I just can't stand it most days. He gets kisses all day long and chased around the house. Can you fall more in love with your kids? I feel like they have become so more precious to me than ever before. God has been so good!

2008-05-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth made it safely here last week! What a huge blessing to have her visiting. We have been eating yummy treats that she brought us like granola bars and almonds and catching up on reading the magazines she brought. My mom sent Reese and Jamin some new books and they have been so excited to read read read.

Small commercial! There is no library where we are living and especially nothing for our kids. This sure makes it hard for kids and moms when we have to read the same 10 books over and over again. So, a few friends and I have been trading our kids books back and forth. That was a great idea until we all kind of exhausted them too! I have a vision... a solution to it. Start my own library for the other moms and their kids in the area. We would all benefit, especially the homeschooling moms, from a quiet room with couches, rugs and piles of books. My plan is to have anyone interested in donating used books for our library send them to a central location in the states and have them brought over here when there is extra luggage weight available. My vision is to get small groups, bible studies, youth groups, and homeschool groups exited and eager to help collect books for us. I'll keep you posted on how it all pans out!

In the mean time, here are a few photos. This is me with my Pumpkin Fudge! Ben made it for me for Mother's Day and it was overwhelmingly wonderful. I was amazed that it set so beautifully and only he knows how much I LOVE pumpkin fudge!

2008-04-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

The heat has come! It is now consistently in the 110's and only going to get hotter. But, we are finding ways to make sure we can keep going. One thing that is really going to be a blessing during this next month is having my sister Elizabeth come and visit. Anyone living overseas will tell you that a visitor is the best gift you can be given. So, after alot of work and prayer we got her a visa and she has a ticket for May 1st!

The past few weeks have been busy with hosting and conference. One week full of meetings was good, but wore us out! Then this past week we have had people staying with us. We really enjoy hosting people and it has become a regular ministry that we have.

Could you all pray for a few things? Reese has a rash that has not gone away for months... it really concerns me and so would you all pray we can figure it out soon? Also, Praise God that Elizabeth can come! There are always details that have to be worked out until she is actually out of the airport and in our home, so we will need constant prayer for it all to work out. Pray that the blessing of having her here will really happen and that we will all get through the month of May with JOY, in-spite of the heat!

2008-04-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

Reese is learning to play guitar with mommy!
We celebrated Easter by making some colored eggs, reading the resurrection story and singing together.

Thankyou Grandma Polly for Jamin's little book. He can now memorize the faces of our special family members.
One of Jamin's new activities - watching the wash machine! BTW - look at the chub on that little fellow!

2008-03-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Reese singing 'Jumping Up and Down' for the kids Palm Sunday celebration.

2008-03-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Thankyou Grandma Polly! Reese and I made 'rice crispy treats' together after you sent us the marshmallows. It was such a treat, we shared some with some friends and savored every crunchy bite!

2008-03-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here's my sweet little guy!

2008-03-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here's the new car!

2008-03-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

I'm getting some really strange error message every time i try to upload photos. So, i'll have to wait to show you all your new turquoise car! Yes, we had been praying for one for a year and the Lord finally provided the right one. He also provided the money at the same time he provided the car! He is so good to us! It is a 1997 Volkswagen Polo.

Right now Ben and i are learning how to drive it. They only have manual cars in this country, so we are having to learn how to drive this thing! I've been out 3 times and stalled it a couple times and almost drove into a ditch. Thankfully, Ben who has had so much more experience (a total of 6 times driving a manual) got me out and we safely made it home!

Poor Reese tho, she told us she really didn't like the car. After my little driving session, we asked her why and she told us, "It goes to slow..." Later, when Ben was taking us to a friends house she piped up "I really like the car now! It goes so fast!" I guess my driving lessons are making a poor impression of the car to her!

2008-03-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, life really has been busy. I'll have to explain the pictures a little! Ben took apart our Macbook Pro and changed the right fan which was broken. While the battery was out, it began to swell and so now we are working the computer off the cord only. He did have some help tho! Some new members to our team are here to help us out with IT stuff. They are Mac lovers, so we are extra thankful for them!

I've been busy with helping encourage and orient the 3 new families that have joined us. It has been busy as we have hosted them in our home, provided meals, babysat and been available to them to help them adjust to live overseas. It is so energizing to have some new families around, they bring excitement and energy to the team. It has also reminded us of how much we have learned through this past year. It hasn't been easy, we've had to work really hard and have come to lean on our Lord's strength more than alot of people ever have too. But, Praise Him, he is so faithful. He has brought us through a year and given us so much joy in the midst of hardness. I can not tell you how great it is to know that He has given us grace and we have been obedient. I pray that He is glorified in me, in my weakness and is exalted through our perseverance.

Reese has been needing some extra special attention lately. You all could pray for her. As our lives have gotten busier we have had so many chances to touch peoples lives. That keeps our doors open and our home full. Hospitality really is my gift and I love and am so thankful that God is providing ways for me to minister, but in the mean time I can see Reese is getting a little tired of it all. I'm praying about how to give her some concentrated time in the midst of all the things going on.

Jamin is now sitting up by himself! He will be 6 months in a week and is getting so fun. He is always happy about life, and getting more active all the time. He will grab anything within reach including hair and hot coffee. We're trying to keep an eye on him, but I can just see how it's going to get a little more complicated once he is moving. Which by the way probably won't be long off. He rocks on his hands and knees and can pull himself around in a circle and backwards. So, we are on the way to having 2 mobile children!

So many things to fill you all in but I will just mention 2 more. We are buying a car. A turquoise '97 volkswagen polo. And, we may be coming back to the states this summer. Two blessings that we did not expect but recognize as undeserving gifts from the Lord! Much more on all those details later...

2008-02-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I think that we are back! Hopefully internet will work better now. In the mean time here are some pictures of what we have been doing...

Update!

2008-02-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

"Hi all! Internet has been down for us since the cable underneath the
Mediterrainian was broken. They say that it may be a couple more weeks
until the problem is fixed. So, for right now, I can't even pull up pages
on the internet much less post anything on this blog. My amazing brother
Ben is sending the post out for me so that you all know I won't be posting
in the next week or so.

We are all doing well. Ben was having back problems but they seem to be
getting better. Reese and I have had mysterious rashes, but the Lord
brought a doctor to us that I feel confident in using and she said the air
is so dry that our skin is reacting to it. Jamin is healthy and happy and
we are so grateful for that!"

Thanks Ben, Renee

2008-01-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

Today we went out to the park just blocks from our apartment. It was so nice to relax on the grass. Jamin took a little nap and accidently got sunburned! poor guy! he's only red on half his face... but, we never get burned here, so i wasn't thinking and even tho we were in a bit of shade, i guess it wasn't enough! Reese and Ben went to look at the animals they have in the middle of the park. Gazelles, tortoises, monkeys, ostriches, and if you click on the second picture you will see LIONS! I know! I was shocked to see a simple park here with such dangerous animals so close to our house! Kind of funny, but I think we'll be watching our backs when we visit again!

2008-01-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

Early morning fun...

Jamin is getting so big these days. I set him on the little rug we have and he looks around, trying to join in on all the fun Reese is having. He has rolled over a couple times and loves to play with his feet now! He is interested in toys, so i often hand him something that rattles and he gets a kick out of it. He loves his sister and always gets a huge smile when he hears her voice in the morning. She loves him too.

Reese is so funny. She now likes to have her little dolls talk to each other and do fun things. Yesterday 'Bubblegum baby' was at home and 'Dora' came by for a visit. They decided they would climb up Camel Back Mountain, which really was just a few books stacked on each other. Poor Dora fell and needed a bandaid, so Bubblegum found her one and took her home for a nap!

2008-01-24T03:29:00.000-08:00

So, our Mac electric cord melted. It took a few days but we found someone who miraculously welded and taped and how it is working we aren't sure, we are just being super careful with it. It's working now, and that is the main thing! We'll just keep praying over it!! While out of commission we missed out on all our email addresses and Skype. But, we are now back in business! Funny how our lives can easily revolve around the computer... work, entertainment, education etc.

2008-01-18T05:05:00.000-08:00

Not really any pictures to post at the moment. But, that doesn't mean our life hasn't been moving along! Right now we are hosting some friends of ours for a few days. They just arrived in the country and we wanted to help them adjust slowly by providing a place for them to just rest and take life a moment at a time. They have a little guys who is three years old too! He and Reese have been playing together so well. She is the princess and he brings her the toys...

A friend of mine is being induced today. I am praying and thinking of her. It has caused me to think too. I remember when Reese was first born it was if I had finally 'found' myself. I have loved being a mom more than anything. It really completes me and give me so much joy! As I get older and experience more of life i've been realizing more of who I am. I mean for so long I thought I knew who I was, a Christian, wife, student, muscian... I love reading, sewing, coffee, candles on a cold night, bible studies with girlfriends... And of course I still love and am those things, but i realize, that I'm becoming more confident in who God has made me. I stand firm in my convictions of how God is leading me and teaching me and growing me. I may not have made it to the point another friend has, but confidently I am who I am. I may never be good at school and make A's, I may never be able to speak my second language very well, I may never be able to live like the people in this nation, but I can train my children to TRUST their Father God, I can host friends and bless them in my home, I can serve my husband with joy and enable him to accomplish his job more effectively.

But my greatest prayer is that I be found obedient to my Lord. We face pressure on every side, but we are not crushed. Fear can overwhelm and difficulty overpower us but the blood of Jesus is greater. There is power in his name! How great He is...

2008-01-15T06:29:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that this is her 'clean' bath water?

2008-01-10T08:09:00.000-08:00

I think it turned out pretty well!

2008-01-09T00:55:00.000-08:00

I had been saving my hair highlighting kit for a while and decided that my birthday was a special time to use it. So, since my sister Kate wasn't here to help me, i had to rely on a tiny mirror to help me see the back and my years of experience doing it to other people. It was going okay, but i got to the point where i really couldn't see the back! So, i have to post a picture of my amazingly wonderful husband who was willing to help me! He did a great job and i'll post some 'after' shots of my hair soon.

2008-01-09T00:46:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my birthday with friends over for brownies and ice-cream. They sang to me and we i blew out all 27 of my candles! This was the first time we have had ice-cream in our freezer since coming overseas!

2008-01-09T00:38:00.000-08:00

I had alot of celebration for my birthday this year. On the 6th we went out to a coffee and dessert shop and purchased three of their specialties. We sat around and sampled the decadent chocolate cake, the "New York" cheesecake and carmel, cream crunch! It was a special treat!

2008-01-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Found my precious kids sleeping in similar positions tonight. I almost laughed out loud at Reese's pose, but remembered she was sleeping. Oh, how i love them!

2008-01-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

Thankyou Shannon! We loved our crisp corn taco shells (only one broke on the way across the world!). We loved the canned refried beans that took seconds to open and microwave! We loved the taco seasoning that made the meat perfect! You thought of it all - we love and miss you!

2007-12-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

Reese is loving her little bike. She doesn't have much room to ride it around, but she's getting the hang of it.
Another 2 packages came in the mail. We got to continue celebrating Christmas. It was so much fun. I got some Christmas Blend. Thankyou, Thankyou! I had just told Ben the other day how sad I was that I had missed my chance to have Christmas Blend this year. Last year, we had been overseas for a couple of months and my dad flew all the way over to where we were to give us a special New Years. One of the things he brought was 2006 Christmas Blend. We had to go all over town to try to find a way to grind the beans, but it was so special. I had some of the 2007 Blend this morning and got to sit and enjoy it. If there were ever a way to my heart, it's through Starbucks!
Jamin got into the gifts. This was his favorite!
Reese has been playing non stop with this nativity set. She has them talking to each other, running errands, eating, and taking care of baby Jesus. It is just the cutest thing!

2007-12-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning I got up and made some fresh cinnamon raisin buns and my precious Starbucks... We sat around and opened our two packages. It felt so much like Christmas, even tho we were so far away from our families. We got things we needed like kitchen towels and those amazing Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (yes, i know about the warnings). Reese got a little bike from us and lots of coloring and art things from her grandparents. Ben's sister sent us some fun stuff. A new shirt for me! Hawaii coffee! refried beans, hard shell taco shells, and never enough seasoning packet! Even a box of mac and cheese! Let me tell you, when you live overseas and can't get those things, those are the best Christmas presents ever!

Our day continued by having some of our friends over for a big meal, songs, games and a funny white elephant exchange! Reese ended up having a little to much sugar by the end of the day and had a bit of a melt down before bed. But, in the end it was such a fun Christmas. The Lord is so good!

2007-12-25T12:03:00.001-08:00

Ben has started our own family tradition by making peanut brittle every Christmas. This year we made about 5 batches, ate one batch and made little bowls for our neighbors and friends. So yummy!

2007-12-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

Reese was so excited to use her own rolling pin. We made some yummy Christmas cookies! It was so funny how she wanted to make every cookie shape possible. We ended up with a hippo cookie, a turkey cookie and a few fish cookies!

2007-12-24T03:06:00.000-08:00

I guess you could say i'm addicted to baby carriers. I love my sling, which Jess made for me, but always have to keep trying out new ones. This one is from the Netherlands, i'm not sure what they call it, but i've heard it called a didymos, i think that is actually the name from Germany? It's really comfortable for long walks. The only down is that it is literally about 5-6meters and that is a heck of a lot of material to wind around my body!

Okay, this is my all time favorite carrier! This is the Ergo Baby Carrier. It is always comfortable, with most of the baby's weight on your waist. The only down side to this is that the little one has to be a bit bigger, they say 6 months, before they fit into it nicely. We were trying it out with Jamin, only to find that indeed he has to grow a bit for him to be comfortable.

2007-12-22T21:09:00.002-08:00

I found my sweet little ones sharing a moment early this morning.

2007-12-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

I'm finally posting pictures of our living room. Wow, it has really been a production. From trying to drill the curtain hooks through the concrete to making the curtains backwards. But, we are so excited about how it is turing out! The walls are not three colors as the picture might indicate, but just one, probably the most accurate is the one on the curtain wall. Here are the before, working on and final pictures!

2007-12-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

This year a friend and I decided we wanted to do some things for our kids, helping them celebrate the season of advent. We are far away from our families and churches and don't have any way for our kids to experience get-togethers and services, so we planned some things ourselves. We invited a few other families and we planned two different Sunday mornings to have an Advent fair.

The first Sunday we had the kids sing some Christmas songs, led by me on the guitar! We had them make paper chains marking down the days till Christmas, talked about and made star ornaments, and did a craft with cotton balls and sheep pictures. They also got to play with special play-dough that was cinnamon scented, especially made by my friend Sonja!

Last Sunday we met again. It was only two families this time, so it was a little less formal. We still sang some songs with the kids, read them the Christmas story and had them color cards. The cards turned out a little differently than we expected so, instead we just hung them on the wall! We had lunch together and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus as we ate his birthday cake afterwards. It was such a fun day for the kids and a special day for us parents to remember!

Here is the picture of Reese sitting with her friends Nehemiah and Evangeline next to our homemade Christmas tree, proudly showing off their "cards" on the wall.

2007-12-19T03:04:00.000-08:00

We are working on painting again! It is really helping me embrace this place, put down roots and enjoy living here! i'm so thankful for how well it is going. i'll post some pics, but in the mean time, you can imagine how the living room is changing. we don't have a ladder so Ben stacked 6 plastic chairs (our dining room chairs!) on top of each other to reach the ceiling. Since he is 6'5" you can imagine how hight our ceiling are if he has to reach even from the 6 chair hight! We moved around some furniture and now the room is looking a bit bigger and easier for people to sit and converse. My job at the moment is making more curtains. This time we are going with red. The window is high, so the curtains are 3 meters, not sure in feet? but in this country it's meters... I'm so excited about how it's turning out! Can't wait to show some pictures!

2007-12-19T03:01:00.000-08:00

Reese and I love starting every morning with either hot tea or coffee. If i get up early with her, we share a drink while our men keep sleeping. Otherwise our morning hot drink has become a tradition at breakfast.

2007-12-18T04:38:00.000-08:00

Reese figured out a new way for Mary to travel!

2007-12-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

I found some white material in town, borrowed a sewing machine, and made Reese some curtains for her newly-painted room.
Things are coming together. The painting is done, the window treatment are done, and Reese is now sleeping off the floor. Now we just need some things to hang on her wall, and a little bedside lamp.

2007-12-16T10:59:00.000-08:00

Double Take

2007-12-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

I hate that picture of me! I need to add some more posts so that it will go away! We finished Reese's room. It was a couple of days of working on it. By the end we figured out how to get straight lines along the ceiling and floor and it looks really good. it took alot of patience to get the final look, but we can't be more pleased with how it turned out. Reese is pretty happy too!

We have plans for painting the living room/dining room too. it may take us a few days to get some more energy to tackle that job, but i'm looking forward to how it will give the home a cleaner look and feel like my own. i'll post pictures as soon as i get some curtains up... that's my next job!

Painting Reese's Room

2007-12-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

First job, sweeping down the walls
Second job, taping the cooler, outlets, windows
Official 'before' picture
Reese and Ben working hard
What Reese was doing while we worked
What Jamin was doing while we worked
After one coat of paint

2007-12-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

Introducing you to my kitchen. Believe me, my standards have had to change a bit, but it is doing the job for the moment. You will notice that i have an itsy bitsy stove. I am constantly using it. It is gas powered by way of the large gas tank to the right of it. It gets filled every couple of months unless you are like me and are constantly cooking and baking and have to have it filled every month! Then you will notice the microwave. I think i am probably the only person in this country with one. It was a special gift from my husband who thought i deserved one. He is so thoughtful... Next, observe big white bucket with spout. That is our water filter. The brown water goes into the top and miraculously clear water comes out. Reese's favorite thing right now is to fill up all of our glasses and cups - using the cool spigot - and leaving them around the house. Here she is showing off her chocolaty hands as we were making a cake for Daddy. Jamin is in on it too. Poor guy, I'm thankful for the highchair that some friends gave us, but he's still a little small for it and so the shoulder straps often get sucked on since they are at about eye level on him.

I have great aspirations for my kitchen in spite of it's lowly look at the moment. First thing is to paint. The color right now is a light yellow, it's fine, but I'm thinking I'll go with some Starbucks colors and get some coffee looking pictures (can i get those here?). I want a shelf along the wall for my baking canisters, a cupboard or stand for the filter and at some point a bigger stove. Who knows, maybe that will be another gift from my generous husband!

2007-12-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

Just had to post the cutest picture of my little guy today. He is growing so quickly. Sucking on his hands, laughing when we tickle him and pretending to talk when we ask him questions are some of the things he is doing. On Dec. 8th he will be 3 month old. I weighed him and he comes in at 16lbs and is about 25 inches long. His thighs are taking over his body! We love him and are so thankful God gave us such a healthy and happy boy.

2007-12-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming and we are getting excited around here. Normally a Christmas without family, in a far away place, would be pretty hard. Last year was our first Christmas overseas, and it was hard. But this year we have been finding ways to make it special. We made a tree out of tinsel, a pole and a platter! We strung lights and made a foil star for the top. We found some candles that we light at night and put on our dinner table that give a cozy feeling. We have a playlist on our ipod of Christmas music that keep cycling during the day, and every night we have been reading as a family a daily advent reading from the Bible. We have gotten together with some friends of ours with kids Reese's age, to talk about christmas, do a craft and sing Christmas songs. So, we'll see how the month goes and keep you posted on our Christmas activities!

2007-11-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

Reese likes using Daddy's professional microphone. He uses it for recording linguistic data, but took some time out to record Reese singing her rendition of "Twinkle Little Star", yes, only one twinkle! She also has a song called Ha-bee-dee-da, we think it is a form of Halleluiah, that she loves to belt out!

2007-11-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was certainly different than any other i have had! We missed our families so much, but God blessed us and gave us a wonderful body of believers to spend an amazing Thanksgiving with. It was wonderful! In a country that doesn't have very interesting food, we were all able to band together and create a turkey, stuffing and mashed potato celebration. We met with other American friends and spent the evening talking about the things we were thankful for and getting to know one another better.

Reese spent some time with some of her friends Heidi and Petra on the trampoline!

2007-11-22T04:02:00.000-08:00

I never thought in a million years i would be cloth diapering. But i have to admit i'm in love with it. Thanks to many people who have encouraged, educated and blessed me with diapers.

I first began tentatively investigating cloth diapering before Jamin was born. Disposable diapers here are alot more expensive than in the states and so i just wondered if it could save us some money trying cloth. I began researching on the Internet about diapers and emailed a few friends that i had known did cloth, getting their perspective and hearing about what they have used. after a little while i began realizing that the days of bulky prefolds, plastic pants and diaper pins are now a thing of the past. Instead a new generation of cloth has appeared on the scene. All in one diapers, that are not much bulkier than a disposable that easily are velcroed on and easily velcroed off.

As i researched i prayed, i asked God if these really were better for us to start using, to provide for us some of these new amazing cloth diapers so that we could save money very month and help the trash problem in this country. Well, God provided in amazing ways. First through a website called cottonbabies.com, a company that not only sells cloth diapering things but also provides grants for people working overseas to receive cloth diapers for free. We felt very blessed by their generosity and excited to start using the things they had given us. But, then my amazing friend Jessica decided that she wanted to buy me more! She bought me 14 bumgenius! diapers. check them out at cottonbabies.com. They are rated #1 in cloth and anyone who has used them raves about them.

And now it has come to be my turn! I can't say enough good things about this product. Even if we were living in the states i would choose cloth. Now that diapers like this are available, disposables don't even tempt me. the ease of using a bumgenius! diaper is just like a disposable and not only are we reducing our land fills, we are keeping our babies bum's clear of chemicals.
I'm excited about cloth and have done so much research i feel like a pro. if anyone has questions shoot me an email!

2007-11-19T11:46:00.001-08:00

We have some new pets now! A pair of turtles just joined our family this week. Reese seems to like them and Ben is getting a kick out of finding the best way to care for them and create a habitat they will thrive in. Jamin and i just watch the goings on. We are still trying to figure out what kind of turtles they are, and so far they don't have names. If anyone has suggestions we would love input!

2007-11-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

Here's my little princess ready for bed in her new pajamas!

After a long day we pulled out some new pj's for both of them, they looked so cute so i had to take their pictures.

2007-11-14T10:38:00.001-08:00

We are finally back to our "home" overseas. It took even longer than expected due to complications regarding Jamin's visa but God knew we supposed to be here and nothing ultimately kept us from returning.

The past few days have been filled with seeing friends, unpacking and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! Ben put up some clothes lines for me today and i was thrilled! It was cool enough to hang out on the balcony today and we all had a chance to relax.

Reese had some fun too. She found out that Jamin is a perfect sized baby for her stroller!

2007-11-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

We finally got the go-ahead from the doctor to leave! We had already had everything packed but Ben wanted to weigh everything to make sure it was with-in the baggage limit...

It took a while but we ended up with 8 bags, 4 carry-on's and 1 guitar. Thankfully my parent's 15 passenger van could handle it all.

Here we are about to leave. It was about 4am, Reese was saying goodbye to Grandma on the phone and Jamin is hanging out in the sling - his second home for about a week.

2007-11-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

Thankyou, Thankyou all for praying. Every one of Ben's tests came out normal and we have nothing what-so-ever to worry about! His heart is completely normal and is in perfect shape. We praise God for how he has answered our prayers, protected us and led us through all the things we had to do this past week.

In the mean time, we have had a wonderful visit with my brother Ben. He will be 20 soon and since he moved out of the house we don't get to see him as much as we see the rest of my family. It has been so good to catch up and hang out. Reese loves having him around too!

we had a great party at our church on the 31st. we didn't have time to dress up, but Reese got to play in the bouncy castle and Jamin got a ride in my AMAZING sling. i never had used one until a friend made one for me and convinced me to use it. i love it and Jamin does too! check it out!

2007-11-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ben has had multiple test the past few days. At this point we haven't heard any bad news, so we continue to pray that the rest of the tests will come out normal and we will be able to leave on Sunday. Thanks for praying for us through this week. We have a great God and we are confident that He is at work in all that is happening.

2007-10-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

Please pray for Ben. The doctor found abnormal readings on his EKG (heart) test and wants him to have more tests and meetings with doctors. Our week is full of appointments for him. we will keep you all informed as to how these go.

on another note - our precious babies love each other lots! we are so thankful for both of them!

2007-10-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of all of us and our wonderful midwife Carol Denny. We had our six week check up with her and had to say good bye. She was amazing and we would recommend her to anyone in the Phoenix area wanting a home birth. Jamin weighed in at 12lbs even! 6lbs in 6 weeks is pretty good!

2007-10-25T20:35:00.001-07:00

Lots of things are going on. we are getting ready to leave the country any day now and our moments are ticking by. we are packing everything in - getting hair cuts, watching movies, going to Starbucks, shopping for last moment things, visiting Starbucks, seeing friends, packing rubbermaids, drinking Starbucks and trying to have fun instead of stressing!

2007-10-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

No cavities! Very thankful for the good new the dentist gave me this morning...

Mark and Lib (my sister and brother) are in visiting us for a week. we already have so much planned to do, it's going to be busy and fun. Tonight we grilled brats and had a picnic out by the pool. We were the only ones there and it was really relaxing and a bit of a temptation for Reese. she could hardly stay out of the water!

Teeth

2007-10-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today Ben got an echocardiogram. the tech thought things looked good, but Ben won't be able to talk to the doctor about the test for a couple of weeks. it was just a routine check up, but we were praying nothing would show up. Thankfully God continues to bless us with good health.

Healthy teeth are another matter tho! Ben had alot of work done on his teeth once we got back here to the states. And just yesturday Reese had about $800 worth of work done to her teeth. And that was AFTER the insurance... Tomorrow i go and get a check up and cleaning. we are just praying that i won't have much more than that needing to be done! It has been quite the dental experience these past few months. all i can say is that, the past 5 years of our marriage we have hardly had a problem with docotrs or dentists, so if this year we have some maintenance to do, we shouldn't complain.

Jamin on the other hand has no teeth for which i am very thankful. He is growing quickly and in the first two weeks had gained two pounds. i dont know what he weights now, but is fitting very nicely in the 1-2 diapers from Cosco! we are trying to get some smiles out of him. Poor Ben is a little worried about his emotional development, but i think he'll be okay.

2007-10-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Some friends mentioned apple picking recently and since then i've been eager to go. We love picking fruit - whatever may be in season. But in Phoenix? What grows? Well, it took a while, but we drove north and finally did find a little orchard with amazing gala and golden delicious apples! The day was tons of fun as we got up early and met our friends over at their house. we all chomped some donuts while we loaded the kids up and headed out. Reese had a lot of fun with her friends and Jamin slept peacefully in my awesome sling!

2007-09-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today was busy. Reese, Jamin (well he didn't really) and i all colored for a while. We took Ben to a doctor appointment, did a little Winnie the Pooh watching, and played at the park. it was a good day!

our first blog entry

2007-09-13T16:23:00.000-07:00