in no particular order...
Happy 5th birthday, Silas!
Everyone wanted a picture with Katherine and her birthday cake ;)
They saved the treasure map and went out exploring again
Delphin and the kids
Elisa and Hudson
Our Sunday School kids got to do tye dye bags as their prize for memorizing all of their verses last year!
We made the LITTLE little ones wear trash bags to do it.
And they loved the gloves :)
Morning Sunday School at EYT
party at the park
So sweet...his friend bought them matching outfits!
We just love having this family near us!
Some party games are fun for kids of all ages!
The look she is giving that pigeon! haha!
and other games are well, just interesting ;)
Hudson is enjoying his biking class!
AND AUNTIE EM GOT ENGAGED!!!!! We had such a fun time hearing all about it on a video call.
random snail
Jonathan and Neal Maynord
the wall in San Giovanni
It was nice seeing Neal and Mary Elizabeth!
This girl had more birthday celebrations than I could count :) This is her actual birthday
We went out to eat and the owner was so impressed that we all spoke Chinese. She came over several times to chat and then when we got up to leave she said "Sit down! Sit down! I have a surprise!" She came back with a little tiramisu cake and a candle and told Katherine that she made it specially for her. She had the biggest smile on her face when she was bringing it out.
family photo
The robot delivered our food
a boat full of sushi
Working on Bible reference puzzles.
They brought her cards to church!
Scout blended in so well with the stuffed animal
Chocolate on the inside
How are we already to 17 with this one!?
The party crew...Brice, Rachel, Silas, Katherine, Ruthie, Hudson, Ellis, HuiHui, WeiLai, Jonathan, and Lauren
spicy sticks (Chinese snack) from her little sister
A chicken dressed up as broccoli
a water bottle that says Faith
He's doing his thing!
And I'm doing mine!
She had no idea I was doing a cactus cake...she decorated with these balloons and colors that matched the cake exactly.
TCK Youth Group
We are just getting it started, but I am glad for those that showed up!
Snacks!
at Tennis class
On a walk and passed by some sheep
our neck of the woods
Hudson and Jonathan both stopped ahead of me to try to get a picture of the moon
We found a great deal on this second hand bike for Hudson! He's so happy!
I got new glasses
Hudson's biking class
Kids were at youth...so we went on a date :)
those were the best green beans we have had here!
Katherine teaching XingXing, BeiBei, and YuanYuan
A picture one of the older kids drew of a Bible story
These were really good mini pizzas!!
Katherine made dinner for us
After empty streets during the summer, it always amazes me that EVERYONE comes back on the SAME day!
Playing Uno
So...Hudson and I both had our eyes dilated at the eye doctor's...needless to say, we were a mess trying to get home since neither one of us could open our eyes.
Lauren has joined the worship team at Rome International Church. We can only go up there once a month, but she enjoys getting to sing on the praise team.
One of Regan's city paintings in her series
This is for Regan's sculpture class. Her professor said it was one of the best she has seen and just asked her to enter it into an art show! Here's the write up for it...Title: Unsettled. I was inspired by my own upbringing as a missionary kid to create a visual representation of having to constantly move around and live out of a suitcase. Each of the eighteen moves were traumatic in their own way, but every time, I wrestled with how I was to fit my entire life into a suitcase--I can't. My personal belongings represent the life I'm not able to take with me when I move, and teh chaotic placement of the objects imitates packing up and moving in a hurry. Not only does the yellow yarn bind everything together, but the way in which it's pulling on the suitcase creates a strong sense of tension within the piece, as the items look as if they could topple over at any point. As viewers approach the sculpture, my hope is that they would not only feel unsettled due to the seemingly unstable nature of the sculpture but that they would also recognize and reflect on the unsettles life of a missionary kid.
My kids enjoyed playing tour guide with some new friends who were visiting.
HuiHui
Ellis
Youth Group set up team!
First night back after summer break!
Well....who knew. A sink hole in down the road from us. That's not a flat tire. The whole was 3 meters deep. Crazy
And yet, another birthday celebration at youth group. This is Katherine's small group :)
