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...

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!

"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

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!

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!

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.

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...